I am Masha Rostova
by The Master Dwarf
Summary: Katarina Rostova left in place a fail safe to protect her daughter should she ever be in trouble. My take on the Russian Story line, and how a few different decisions can affect the entire world. Starts at the end of 'Tom Connolly' and goes from there, very AU. Keenler. Thank you all for going down this rabbit hole with me. I lay no claim to any recognizable characters. Enjoy -TMD
1. Be Prepared To Go

**AN: Right, so I have scoured the fandom for anything like this, as the Russian storyline, annoyingly short as it may be, is probably my favorite, and the closest thing I've found is Masha Rostova or Elizabeth Keen, and that has two chapters and was updated four years or so ago. The basic premise, at least now, I reserve the right to change it later, is that I find it hard to believe that Katarina, who both was KGB and knew who Reddington was, wouldn't make some sort of failsafe for her daughter in case the cabal, or anyone else, wishing her harm due to her heritage. I'm more of a pen to paper kind of guy, rather than planning things out in advance, so, at least in the beginning, I really have about as much of an idea where this is going as all of you. Also, I would like to point out I am a history major, so I have no bloody clue how the USSR or modern Russian government works, so please understand this is **_**very**_** AU, and my knowledge of government is limited, and mostly shored up by TV. Just wanted to get that out there. Also, my creativity when it comes to names is rather lacking, so most names will probably be pretty stereotypical. Last thing I promise, the only research I will be doing is re-watching Blacklist episodes, so I don't know who is in power outside of the big names, in either Russia or the States. Sorry for the very long AN, but I wanted to make sure that all these things were clear from the beginning, and without further ado, let the story begin.**

**Auditorium somewhere in Washington DC**

Her ears were ringing and she couldn't move. As her head cleared ever so slightly, she saw the vague outline of a woman in front of her, and, as she stood there, she realized the woman was her mother, ex KGB operative Katarina Rostova. Her mother came into focus as she moved forward to hug her.

_keen_

It was then that she noticed that she was her four-year-old self. "Masha," her mother held her by her shoulders, looking into her eyes, "Masha, you must listen to me, I don't have much time until he comes to get you." Elizabeth was confused, she had never had a memory from this time in her life as vivid as this one, she didn't know what was going on and was trying to figure that out, but then her mother continued to speak, interrupting her thoughts, "If you are ever in trouble, and your father can't help you, go to any Russian governmental building and ask for Sergei Petrov, on operation Red Hammer. This will put in motion a chain of events that I've set up, that no one, except the highest authority, as well as myself, can stop. You _must_ remember this," at that moment, Elizabeth saw a man come into view, he seemed familiar, but she couldn't seem to make her brain work, couldn't make out more than an outline, everything outside of direct focus was fuzzy and indecipherable.

_keen._

"Katarina, I have to take her now, I'm sorry." Her mother said something to the man, who she guessed was her father, her _biological _father, he nodded, and she turned to Elizabeth again. "Masha, my dear, sweet daughter, I don't know if you will ever see me again, but know this, I love you very much, and I am proud of you."

_Keen._

Elizabeth was pulled away by the shadowy figure of her father, into the gloom beyond her memory's comprehension. She wanted to turn around, to see her mother one last time, but she couldn't. She wanted to fight, to scream, anything, but she just couldn't. Her vison faded to black…

"Keen!"

The world came back into focus. Her ears were still ringing. She was still in the auditorium. Her hands were trembling. Her gun was still in her hands, and as she watched as the newly sworn in Attorney General slumped to the ground, dead, it fell from her loose grasp, seemingly in slow motion.

"KEEN!"

She sluggishly turned to the side, where she saw Cooper standing there, looking at her in shock, and trying to get her attention. Distantly, she heard the sounds of people moving closer, but she didn't register the implications, nothing made sense, yet. Everything was moving too quickly, her mind needed time to catch up, one thing was clear though, that was time she didn't have.

She finished looking towards Cooper, and he said one thing,

"Run."

And she did. She trusted Cooper, though she had just betrayed his trust, probably completely and irreversibly. She ran out of the building, and down street for a few minutes, until she felt safe enough to slow to a walk, but she kept moving, always moving, away from the building where she became everything the cabal had branded her to be: a traitor. It wouldn't matter that Connolly was a member of the cabal, even if he was a low ranking one, to most people, the cabal didn't even exist. She had gunned down the Attorney General for no reason, that's all the people would know and remember. That's how the news would portray it.

As she walked down the street, she palmed a cellphone from a stroller, and dialed the one number she knew could save her.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Ressler was still reeling from being made the interim head of the taskforce, but was determined to do everything he could to help Keen out of the mess the cabal had created for her. He was walking to the main area when he heard a soft, "Oh, no." He turned and saw Aram, looking as pale as he had ever seen him. "What is it, Aram?" he demanded. "Oh, uh, Agent Ressler, I, uh…" he sighed in defeat, "You had better come see this, sir." Ressler walked swiftly over to Aram's desk, and on his computer he saw a breaking news report, "…Where new Attorney General Tom Connolly has just been shot dead, videos caught FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen, who is suspected in the assassination of senator Hawking, fleeing the scene…" Ressler tuned the rest of the report out, stunned at what his partner had done. "Oh, Keen, what have you done?" He muttered, "Did you say something, Agent Ressler?" Aram asked, Ressler just shook his head and walked to the front of the room. He rested his head against one of the glass boards there for a moment, then turned around. "Okay, everyone, listen up! From this point forward this taskforce has one objective only: find and arrest FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen." His announcement was met by stunned silence, and he glared at the room in general, until people quickly started doing whatever they could to seem busy.

Ressler knew in his heart that Keen had to have had a reason to shoot Tom Connolly, most likely scenario was that he was a member of the cabal, but he knew that that would be almost, if not, impossible to prove. This was not helped by the fact that he himself only knew of the existence of the cabal due to the man the taskforce was created for, FBI most wanted No. 4, Raymond Reddington. He sighed, no, there was no way to prove that Keen had done anything less than a traitorous act, but he knew Keen was no traitor. At least, that's what his heart said. His mind, the mind of a jaded, cynical and professional FBI Agent questioned that. Given the new information about Keen's past that had come to light over the past few years, from her father's previously unknown criminal record, to the startling news that she apparently had been born in Moscow and the fact that Elizabeth wasn't even her birth name, it was apparently Masha. That, combined with the interest Reddington had in her, himself a known traitor, had Ressler's mind warring with his heart.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC**

"I need your help." The desperation in her voice must have been clear, for there was no joking reply from the other end. "Where are you, Lizzy?" She looked around, "4th and Emerson," she answered, "Meet me at the park three blocks down, I'll be there in ten minutes. Hang on, Lizzy, it's going to be okay." She nodded, though she knew he couldn't see her, and the line went dead. As calmly as she could, she continued walking down the street towards the park. Even though her heart was beating so hard she thought it would burst out of her chest, no one started pointing, no one screamed, in fact, no one was really paying her any attention at all, even with her new paranoia and the fac that her face was all over the news. Calmly, she threw away the phone as she walked, and before she knew it, she was sat on a park bench, waiting.

Line Break

"Change of plans, head for the park at 7th and Emerson, and hand me the phone," the driver handed the man in the back the phone. After dialing, the man waited for the person on the other line to pick, and spoke without preamble when they did, "Be prepared to go." His message sent, he broke the phone in half and tossed it out the window.

Line Break

Elizabeth was hyper alert when the car pulled up in front of her. She mentally cursed herself for leaving her gun behind, and thus herself at a grave disadvantage. She was preparing to fight, or run, when the rear door opened and out stepped her savior. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, she gave the man a weak smile as he approached the driver side door and gave the man driving a hug and kiss on the cheek, before the driver got back in and drove away, leaving the two behind. "Why did you send him away," Elizabeth asked, "I thought we were leaving?" The man smiled at her and pat her hand. "I've no doubt that when you fail to turn up or turn yourself in quickly, the cabal will realize that you have come to me, and with that in mind, they will be looking for two men and a woman, as I do not lightly part for my bodyguards, as you well know." Elizabeth nodded, that did make sense. Only now, sitting next to one of the few people she knew would protect her no matter what, Elizabeth allowed herself to relax, and her eyes drifted slowly shut. It seemed only moments later that she was being shaken awake, to see a nondescript van parked in front of them, waiting. "Come on, Lizzy, its time to go." Mumbling her assent, she stumbled forward towards the van, leaning on the man next to her. After they got in the van, she leaned her head on his shoulder and allowed her eyes to drift shut once more. As she entered the realm of Morpheus once again, her mind began to wander, going back over the day, wondering were things went so wrong. As her mind drifted, her eyes shot open and her head whipped around to look at the man sitting next to her.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Donald Ressler was not having a good few days. First his partner is accused of treason, and while he was trying to clear her name, she goes and shoots the new Attorney General, actually confirming, in the eyes of the public, that she was a traitor. "Somebody give me an update! Aram!" The man started, then furiously started typing, "Well, no one has reported seeing Agent Keen since she left the auditorium, and I haven't gotten a warrant for the traffic cams yet, but that shouldn't be too long now, with any luck." Disappointed, Ressler nods and looks around, but no one seems to have anything more that what has already been said. "Well, when someone gets something, I want to be the first to know about it!" There was a collective nod and a few mumbled affirmations. He huffed and moved to the front, staring at the mugshot of Elizabeth Keen, his partner and now his quarry, that he had taped there himself, "Where are you, Keen? I can't help you if you don't let me," he mumbled, not intending for anyone else to hear him.

"Are you sure you can keep a clear head in all of this?" The voice of Samar Navabi asks from behind him. He whirled around, "What exactly do you mean?" he brusquely asked. "Simply that she was your partner, and its not uncommon to give one's partner allowances that one would not normally give." He stared at her, incredulous, "Elizabeth Keen is a fugitive of the law, a murderer, and a member of the FBI's top ten most wanted. Whether or not she is my partner is irrelevant, I will find her and bring her in, and she will face the due process of law for her actions." Samar looked at him for a few moments, then, "Is" Ressler was confused, "What?" Samar looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You said Keen _is_ your partner, not she _was_ your partner." Ressler was silent for a minute, looking at her, then he said, "Until Elizabeth Keen is tried and convicted of her crimes, I will give her the benefit of the doubt, and so should you. You've known her almost as long as I have, can you really say, honestly, that you don't have one single shred of doubt that she is still being set up and is scared and confused and doesn't know how to react now that people she trusted, people she considered friends, are hunting her down like a dog?"

Samar replied instantly, "No, and neither should you, you're allowing emotion to cloud your judgement, and it is inhibiting your ability to look at the facts objectively."

Ressler's voice was cold when he said, "Don't you have work to do, Agent Navabi?" She looked at him for a few more moments before turning on her heel and walking away.

_She's right, you know. You _are_ allowing your feelings about Keen to cloud your judgment of the facts._ His mind whispered.

_Shut up, I refuse to believe that Keen is a traitor to this country, this is all the cabal's doing, and once they are taken down, Keen will be right back here with us, solving cases._ His heart replied.

_With _you_, you mean._ His mind retorted.

He didn't bother to dignify that with a response, even in the confines of his own head.

Line Break

"Lizzy?"

"Sergei Petrov, what do you know about him?"

Reddington was silent for a few moments, "Lizzy, where, _exactly_, did you hear the name, Sergei Petrov?"

"When I shot Tom Connolly, I had a flashback, it was my mother, and she told me that if ever my father couldn't help me and I was in serious trouble, that I should go to a Russian governmental building and ask for Sergei Petrov, so I'll ask again, what do you know about him?"

"Lizzy, while your father can't help you, he has entrusted me with your safety, so I don't think we need to do that just yet."

"You didn't answer my question, _who_ is Sergei Petrov? And don't lie or deflect me, I deserve to know, after all, my mother said he would save my life." She gave him a hard stare, daring him to defy her.

"Very well, Lizzy. I honestly don't know much about him, he is a very well-kept secret in the Russian government, not to mention the rest of the world. All I know is that he is a safety measure put in place by your mother for your protection, should you ever need it. I promise you, Lizzy, that's all I know."

Elizabeth scrutinized him for several seconds, then nodded slightly, satisfied he wasn't leaving anything out. She opened her mouth to ask something else when she was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. The driver handed Reddington the phone and he answered it. Elizabeth felt a weight settle in her stomach when she saw his expression darken. He ended the call, and broke the phone in half before handing it back to the driver, who threw the pieces out the window. "What's wrong?"

Reddington ignored her and leaned forward to talk with the driver. "Head to the safehouse on 52nd and Elm." The driver nodded and calmly changed course. Elizabeth grabbed him, "What's wrong, I thought we were leaving?"

"My jet is being watched, we'll have to lay low for a few days, until people are less alert. My men will call back when it's safe to go."

Elizabeth felt numb, then she started having trouble breathing. The world was closing in around her, constricting her, crushing her lungs. She felt involuntary tears prick at her eyes, then black started creeping in at the edges. Distantly, she heard Reddington calling her name, but she didn't understand what he said after that. Suddenly the world snapped back into focus, and she looked around. She was sitting on a park bench again, and her head was pressed against Reddington's chest. She listened to the steady beat of his heart for a few moments before he spoke again. "Are you feeling better, Lizzy?" She just nodded her head, fearing that if she opened her mouth to speak the sobs she could feel welling up inside her would come pouring out, and she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to stop them. "Lizzy, listen to me, you're going to be okay, I'm going to make sure that you're okay. You had a panic attack, nothing more. Everything's okay now." They both knew that things weren't okay, but she felt comforted, knowing he was there and going to protect her. She let out a strangled laugh, and looked up at him, "Just a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have trusted you with taking out my trash, and now here I am, trusting you to protect me from just about everyone." He gave a soft chuckle, but said nothing more, and guided her back to the van.

**AN: So I'm going to end it here, both because this feels like a natural endpoint, and because I'd feel like I'm trying to cram in content if I went any further. I know somewhat where I'm headed now, and so I know sort of how I want events to transpire in relation to each other. If you hadn't realized yet, this is going to be very AU, so don't come griping that I messed up the canon timeline or such and such an event went differently in the actual show. I'm going to try to get each chapter to around 3k words of actual content, so that means that sometime I won't update for a bit if I come to a part where I just don't know how I want to tell the story in my head on paper. Of course there will probably be exceptions either way, but I generally want to keep them around 3k. Two last things. First, I don't know if I'm going to keep doing the location things, I'll try, but I'll probably miss one here or there, so don't expect me to be super perfect about those. And second, I know that my writing was kinda all over the place in terms of using names vs pronouns, but I think it turned out all right, so I'll probably keep writing that way. It made sense to me, but let me know if it doesn't make sense everywhere. **

**AN2: Okay, so I'm writing IAMR Ch. 5 right now, and originally my plan was to write the story and then post each chapter weekly after I did that, but I've decided to post this chapter as both a teaser and so I can get this message out, I would love your ideas as to where I could take this story. I have a general idea on what I want from this story, but I could definitely use Ideas on how to get from point A to Point B, or Z or whatever the hell point is around thirty, well, twenty-five now, chapters ahead. So please, please, **_**please**_** review with Ideas on what you want to see in this story, and I'll see what I can do. I'm not promising that every suggestion will be put into play, but more than likely, more than a few will.**


	2. Welcome To America, Mr Mustermann

**AN: Right, so you know that thing I said at the end of last chapter, that I had an idea about where things were going? I proofread that chapter, and in the time it took me to do it, I bloody well lost my thoughts about it. So, that's a thing. Ugh, I'll try and get my train of thought back and keep writing. I have a very general and broad idea of where I want this story to go and how I want it to end, but the nitty gritty details are what I'm having problems with right now. Oh well, such is writing I suppose.**

**3 Days later, Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

In three days they had not had a single lead pan out in the search for Elizabeth Keen. Oh, sure there had been tips called in, but none of them had led to anything. Most annoyingly, the warrant for the traffic cameras hadn't come through yet. Intellectually, Donald Ressler knew that this was most likely simply the bureaucratic process at work, but he couldn't help but wonder if Reddington wasn't slowing things down…

"Sir, the warrants came through, we have access to the traffic cams!" Aram's voice cut through the din, and Ressler hurried over to his desk. "Okay, I'm starting with when she came out of the auditorium and we can follow her from there." They watched as Keen ran out of the building, and followed her from cam to cam, noting the only time she stopped moving was to make a brief phone call, until they lost her between cams. Ressler swore, there went their only viable lead. "Keep looking, Aram, she's bound to turn up somewhere."

"Agent Ressler, what about that phone call she made?"

"Can anybody read what she's saying?"

Samar came over and watched, "She's telling whoever is on the other end where she is, that's about all I can get." Ressler nodded, we have to assume that she's talking to Reddington about getting his help, and that they met up somewhere between the last two cams. Aram, is there anything in that area that could work?" Aram start looking, "There seems to be a park in the blind spot, maybe they met there."

"Okay, Aram, look for any vehicles that seem to stop at the park for a brief time, and follow them for a while, see where they go, have Agent Navabi help you."

It was about half an hour later when Aram called him back, "Agent Ressler, I found her! Or, at least, I found her three day ago." Aram pulled up a video of Elizabeth being taken out of a van by Reddington, and sitting her down on a park bench. It looked like she was having some kind of panic attack, and after a while, they got back in the van and it drove off. "Aram, find out where that van went." He simply pulled up an address. Ressler nodded. "Navabi, you're with me, Aram, keep an eye on that place, let me know if anything happens." Just as they were leaving, the agent manning the phone came up to him. "Sorry to bother you, sir, but we've gotten another tip about Agent Keen." Ressler nodded to him, and when he heard the address, he knew that the net was closing in around Keen. He and Samar took the elevator up and met with the squad of agents that would be accompanying them to capture Keen.

Line Break

**Somewhere in DC, Safehouse, 3 day earlier**

The van pulled up to a nondescript diner. After making sure no one was paying them any attention, Reddington led Elizabeth inside. Once inside, they saw a man and a woman sitting inside, watching the new on their tv. Upon seeing Reddington, the man shot to his feet, "Mr. Reddington, how can I help you, sir?" Reddington, however, was focused on the woman, "David, who is this?" Losing a bit of colour in his face, the now named David quickly attempted to placate Reddington, "She's my sister, sir, the one from…" Reddington interrupted, "Texas, yes. I was unaware she had moved here." David was obviously off put by the complete lack of emotion in Reddington's voice, Elizabeth knew that this normally meant Reddington was trying to come to a decision about something. "She's trustworthy, sir. She won't be a problem." The woman, while obviously a little put out by the fact that the two men were talking about her, was too intimidated by Reddington to say anything about it. Elizabeth gave her a small smile, but was worried when she saw a spark of recognition in the woman's eyes, and then watched them flit briefly to the tv, where even now, images of her were being shown. Elizabeth nudged Reddington and whispered to him, "Maybe we should go find somewhere else to stay, she recognized me." Reddington gave his signature jovial yet intimidating chuckle, and at normal volume he said, "Oh, Lizzy, I'm _sure_ we have absolutely _nothing_ to worry about, isn't that right, David?" David's face, which had regained some of its colour by then, turned white as a sheet as he hurried to assure Reddington of this fact.

Reddington held out his arm to Elizabeth, and after she had taken it, led her to a sink, which actually led to a hidden basement. After releasing Elizabeth's arm, Reddington strode over to a wine rack and inspected one of the bottles. "Ah, David, you always have the good stuff. We should be fine here for a week or so, until the heat dies down," This last part was directed at Elizabeth, as David had obviously taken some movement of Reddington's as a dismissal, and had left after Reddington had complimented his wine selection. "Okay, Red, but what are we supposed to do down here while we wait?" At this, Reddington chuckled and gestured to a stack of magazines that Elizabeth had overlooked until now, "Why, catch up on the latest editions of Bass Master, of course." Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but had to smile at the very Reddington-like answer. Suddenly, she yawned, and realized just how tired she actually was, the day's events finally catching up with her. Reddington looked up from the cot he was sitting on, and said, "Here, Lizzy, take this and lay down for a while, get some rest." She smiled gratefully at him, and did just that. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the surprisingly comfortable pillow.

Time Skip: 3 Days

Elizabeth was sitting on the stairs. A Bass Master magazine in her hands, actually enjoying the articles inside and reminiscing about the times when Sam would take her fishing as a young girl. She was so absorbed in the article and memories that the yelling from above her did not register for a few moments. "…a terrorist! My husband fought and died in Afghanistan, I will not allow one to hide here, and I certainly will not sit idly by and let you do so either!" without bothering to hear David's reply, Elizabeth sprinted over to Reddington and shook him awake. "Red, get up! We have a serious problem!" Reddington shot up, with his hand reaching inside of his coat for his gun, "What is it, Lizzy?" Elizabeth could feel another panic attack coming at the thought of what was happening, between heaving breaths, she managed to tell Reddington what had happened. Reddington's face was set with grim resolve as he nodded and moved to the stairs, telling Elizabeth to stay where she was. After he had made his way into the main building, Elizabeth crawled over to the stairs to hear what was happening. She got there just in time to hear the whole thing.

"What have you done, girl?" Elizabeth could hear the defiance in the other woman's voice as she replied, "I called the FBI, they're on their way now." She could also hear the panic in David's voice as he said, "Suzy, what you done?" Apparently, Suzy didn't bother to answer her brother, at least that's what Elizabeth thought, until she heard her speak again, this time with a clear note of fear in her voice, "P-put the gun down, I-I'm sorry…" Whatever she was going to say after that was interrupted by a clearly irate Reddington, "You will be, as David here will pay the price if you do not call the FBI back right now and tell them whatever you have to, to make sure that they don't come here." But as he said that, Elizabeth could hear the squeal of braking tires outside. She heard footsteps moving towards her and saw Reddington pulling David with him with a gun to his head. "Tell them whatever you have to, or David here will pay the price."

Reddington closed the door and moved into the room, releasing David as soon as he did, "My apologies for that… unpleasantness just then my dear man." David, clearly a bit more relaxed now that he wasn't in imminent danger of being shot, just nodded and whispered furious apologies for his sister's actions. Reddington gave him a pointed look when the door overhead could be heard opening and David was quiet. They listened as Suzy told the FBI anything and everything she could in an attempt to get them to leave, and Elizabeth had to choke back a sob as she heard Ressler's distinct voice replying to her. Hearing her partner's voice irrevocably drove home the fact that everyone she knew, save for a very few select people, were hunting her down, whether they worked for the cabal or not was a nonissue at this point, even Ressler, diehard honorable man that he was, wouldn't be able to protect her from the reach of the cabal. She thought they were just about free when She heard Ressler tell Aram to call back the number that had called the tip in. She felt her heart stop when the phone rang right next to her. Reddington wasted no time, telling David to stay where he was and not point the FBI after them, and then took Elizabeth's arm and led her to what she had thought was simply a ventilation duct. It turned out that she shouldn't have thought that little of Reddington, as it ended up that this was their way out. She heard the sink being shoved out of the way and tried to crawl faster forward, towards what was her only shot at freedom.

Line Break

Ressler cursed when he entered the hidden basement and found only one person, who was neither of the people he was trying to catch. He turned to Samar and said, "Agent Navabi, arrest this man, and the woman to. I need to go and coordinate a search of the area." Without waiting for Samar's affirmation, he turned and stalked back up the stairs. Grabbing the nearest agent, he spoke without preamble, "I want a thorough search of the surrounding three blocks, teams of two, keep in radio contact. Go!" The agent nodded and began to organize the search, while Ressler pulled out his phone. "Aram, check the traffic cameras in the area, I want to know if they got caught on any of them. Let me and the rest of the agents know if you spot them." Without waiting for a reply, he hung up.

"Come on, Keen…" He muttered. Only in the safety of his mind did he acknowledge that he was secretly hoping she got away. He knew the cabal had a long and powerful reach, and should she be captured, by the FBI or otherwise, barring a miracle, the best she could hope for was a swift death, he refused to even consider what would happen to her if that didn't happen.

Of course, he would do his job to the best ability, and right now that meant capturing Elizabeth Keen, but if he succeeded, and he honestly wasn't sure of his chances given his track record with Reddington, he would do his damndest to make sure she stayed safe and was given a fair and legit trial. He wouldn't allow himself to dwell on the chances of that actually happening, however.

Line Break

Elizabeth tried to keep her breathing as slow and soft as possible. They were on a roof, hidden amongst the external ductwork, and she had just heard some agents come up to the roof as well. She waited to hear the sound of footsteps coming towards her, not knowing if she had it in her to actually hurt people who were just doing their jobs. She knew Reddington would have no such problems with it, and so she hoped, for their sakes, they didn't come closer. Her silent prayer seemed to have been answered as she heard, "There's nothing here, let's radio in and keep looking." After hearing his partner consent to the plan, and listening to him radio in, she listened as they left the roof.

They must have stayed in that spot for close to an hour before they heard the agents get into their cars and drive off. Reddington motioned for her to stay where she was, and he crept up to the edge of the roof and made sure the area was safe, before motioning her to join him, and together they made their way back into the now empty safehouse.

"Red, I know we probably could stay here now that they'll think we've moved on, but can we please go to a different safe house?" He looked at her, and saw the fear and tiredness in her eyes, "Of course, Lizzy, but we might as well check this place for anything useful while we're here." Elizabeth nodded and started moving through the diner, looking for anything useful. There wasn't really anything, save for a bleaching kit she found in the bathroom upstairs, that she assumed belonged to the sister, Suzy. Looking in the mirror, she sighed, she knew it would be better if she didn't look exactly like the pictures of her being circulated by the news and law enforcement agencies, but doing this felt a little like she was killing a part of herself, a part that made Elizabeth Keen who she was.

That thought stopped her, ever since Tom's betrayal, she had wanted nothing to do with the man, and even though she had divorced the fake, she had kept his name. At the time, it had been an effort to remind herself of the simpler times, when she was actually in love with the man who called himself Tom Keen, but recently, before this whole mess, she had started to hate the specter that followed the name. At first, she didn't notice, but over time, she had started to see the distrust in people's eyes when they mentioned her last name. Ressler, especially, had tried to hide it, but she could see it every time, and it hurt her that he didn't fully trust her based on who she had been married to. Maybe it was time for Elizabeth Keen to die.

She turned on the tap.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Donald Ressler was conflicted. On the one hand, he was… not glad exactly – more, relieved, he guessed -that they hadn't found Reddington and Keen. On the other, however, the longer she was on the run, the more chances there were that someone from the cabal would find her, and then… he didn't want to think about it. But then again, the most likely event, were she caught by the FBI or other law enforcement, would be for the cabal to get to her anyway. No, what was best for her continued health and safety was for her to stay on the run with Reddington. His own failures with the man spoke volumes on his ability to evade capture. _But that was when he was only looking out for himself, now he has to take care of Elizabeth as well_, his mind whispered. He shook his head, he had to believe that she was safe with him, and so far, it seemed that way.

Aram's voice cut into his musings again, "Sir, you've got a phone call!"

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC**

"Oh, my." That is what greeted Elizabeth when she walked down the stairs. Reddington just stood there, taking her new appearance in. "You look so much like your mother, Lizzy." She debated correcting him, but decided now was not the time, and simply smiled tiredly at him. Then he looked towards her elbow, which was wrapped in gauze. "Lizzy! What happened?" She just shook her head, and asked, "Are we leaving now?" Reddington nodded, seeming to accept that she would talk when she was ready. "We were just waiting for you," Elizabeth nodded, and walked outside with him. She touched his arm, and when he looked at her, she said, "Make sure every one there is trustworthy this time, please?" He just nodded, and helped her into the car, which then drove off. As they drove away, she touched his arm again and said, "Can you call Ressler, and tell him to go back to where we were?" He looked at her in askance, "Whatever for, Lizzy?" She just pointed to her bandaged arm, "I left him a message."

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Ressler took the offered phone and held it to his ear. "Ressler, who is this and how did you get this number?" He wasn't as surprised as he probably should have been with the answer, "Donald, is that any way to greet an old friend?" Ressler grit his teeth before walking into the relative safety of his old office. He closed and locked the door before responding, "First of all, we are _not_ friends, understand? Second, what the _hell_ are you thinking, calling me right now?" There was silence on the other end for a brief moment, which Ressler used to collect his thoughts and calm down a little. Then he replied, "Well, I am hurt by the fact that you don't consider us friends, but that is neither here nor there. I actually do have a reason for calling you, its about Lizzy." Ressler felt a cold fear grip his heart, "Keen, what's the matter, is she hurt, what's wrong?" There was a slight chuckle on the other end. "Relax, Donald, nothing is the matter and nothing is wrong, aside from her being chased by the cabal, but then, you already knew that. As for being hurt, well…" was as far as he got before Ressler interrupted him, "How is she hurt? Is it critical? Who did it?" Again with the slightly mocking chuckle that caused his blood pressure to rise, "No its not critical, her elbow has been cut, and believe it or not, she did it to herself. She won't tell me why, but apparently, if you go back to where you were earlier today, you will find out the reason for it." With that, the line went dead, and he had no doubt that a trace wouldn't work. He walked out and stopped by Aram's desk, "I'm going to go check on something, let me know if anything comes up." Aram looked slightly worried, but nodded anyway. Ressler turned around, only to come face to face with Samar Navabi. "I'm coming with you." Ressler considered arguing, but decided it wasn't worth it. He just gestured towards the elevator. As they drove, Samar turned to him and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Back to the diner, apparently Elizabeth has left me a message." A huff from his passenger got his attention, "What?" Her tone was slightly acerbic when she responded, "So you call her _Elizabeth_ now? When did that happen?"

"She's my partner, I called her Elizabeth all the time, just not when we're on duty." His only reply was a scoff.

When they got to the diner, they split up, looking for the message. Ressler was just about to enter the hidden basement when he heard Samar call out, "Ressler, come here, I've found it." He strode upstairs and into a bathroom, what he saw just confused him even more. Written in what was clearly blood, Elizabeth's if he had to guess, from what Reddington told him, was a message, but not one he understood.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, Air Strip**

"Welcome to America, Mr. Mustermann."

**AN: Not much to say here. I'll be honest, I finished writing the chapter right as the alarm for my last class of went off on my phone, so whatever I was going to say, I've completely forgotten. My first draft of this was complete garbage that I had written at 11:30 last night, so I erased it all and I'm much happier with the end result. Please let me know what you all think, and please, please, **_**please**_**, give me your suggestions, I want this to be a great story, but my mind can only think of so much. For those of you wondering, I've honestly got no clue as to the pairing, honestly, you all will know almost as soon as I do. It may be Keenler, it may not be. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Have a good one, everybody.**


	3. Elizabeth Keen Is Dead

**AN: Third chapter in two days, lets see if I can keep this up without getting burned out. Also, I'm listening to a new type of music while writing this, so if anything seems weird or different, blame it on that, and not the fact that I gave no idea where this is going. Yeah, its for sure the music and absolutely nothing else. Oh, and if anyone is wondering, I don't know when I'm going to start posting chapters, but I've been writing ahead, so I can get a backup of chapters in case I get writer's block or start to burn out on this. Bloody hell, I cannot write a short author's note to save my life. Anyway, on to the chapter.**

**Somewhere in Washington DC, Same Day**

The car pulled up to a townhouse, and, after checking that the coast was clear, Reddington led Elizabeth inside, where they were greeted by banks of computers, green screens and cameras and beds strewn about. "What is this place?" Reddington chuckled, "Welcome, Lizzy, to the lair of the Trollfarmer." Elizabeth was confused, "The Trollfarmer?" Reddington nodded, "Yes, but don't let him hear you call him that, he hates it. I trust him and his people, they do good work. We'll stay here about a week, maybe longer, then use his skills to cover up our departure." Elizabeth nodded, but asked, "What is it that he does?"

Before Reddington could answer, a voice called out, "I make you appear where you are not." Turning, Elizabeth saw the man apparently called the Trollfarmer. He was very unassuming, but looked kind of nerdy, like he knew his way around a computer, Elizabeth figured he and Aram would be fast friends if they were on the same side of the law. "How do you do that? It sounds like it could be very helpful for me in a few days." The man raised an eyebrow, "Renting out my facilities again, Red? Very well, your normal spot I expect?" Reddington nodded, "If you wouldn't mind, my dear man. I will leave Lizzy in your capable hands to explain your work, god knows I don't understand how it works. Lizzy, I will be preparing our room." Elizabeth nodded distractedly, already engrossed in the explanation being given to her by the Trollfarmer.

Reddington nodded to himself, Lizzy was already acting more like her old self, curious about everything, and not resting until she got her answers. He could tell some of the Trollfarmer's people were a little unnerved by her, but they knew him, and knew to be respectful of anyone who he brought with him. He turned and started moving up the stairs before stopping as a thought hit him, there was one person who may know more about Sergei Petrov, but he would let Lizzy settle down from her scare today before bringing it up, a few days should suffice.

Line Break

Ressler stared at the message, not making head nor tail of it, Элизабет Кин мертва. It looked like Russian, but he wasn't sure. He looked at Samar, "Don't suppose you can read this?" She looked back at it, "Well, my Russian is a bit rusty, but even so, unless I am very much mistaken, this says, Elizabet Kin mertva." Ressler looked at her, "And that, means _what_ exactly." Samar looked at him, her eyes betraying her confusion, then, looking back at the message, she scrutinized it, looking for any indication she was wrong, she finally replied, "Elizabeth Keen is dead." Ressler was stunned, "What, but Reddington said she was fine!" Samar whipped her head around, "And just when did he tell you this?" Ressler was resolute, not giving her an inch, "That phone call that Aram gave to me right before we came here, it was him. He said she was fine, just had a cut in her elbow…" He looked back at the mirror, "I'm pretty sure I know the answer already, but take a sample of this blood and have the lab process it. I want to know who's it is." Samar waved her hand in front of him, "Hello, Ressler, I want to go back to the part where you got a phone call from a wanted criminal and not only didn't tell us, you didn't attempt to trace it." Ressler gave her a deadpan look, "You've worked with the man, you know how cautious he is, a trace would never have worked, and you know it." She didn't respond, but Ressler knew she had conceded the point.

"Get the sample and meet me back in the car." With that, he walked down to sit in the car waiting. "Reddington, if you've lied to me about her, when I get my hands on you…"

Time Skip: 4 Days

It had been a week since Elizabeth shot the Attorney General, and four days since the FBI had come knocking at their first safehouse. Reddington was right when he said they could trust the Trollfarmer's people; they hadn't had any problems, once they and Elizabeth had come to an understanding about her curiosity about everything. Now it was time to talk to her about the one person, outside high-ranking Russian officials, of which they were fresh out of, who might be able to tell her something about Sergei Petrov, the man her mother had said could save her if no one else could. Of course, she also had information on people that he wanted, but that was just an added bonus. "Lizzy, can we talk for a moment?" Elizabeth looked up from where she was discussing something with one of the techs, and smiled at him, "Sure, what's up?" Reddington felt a slight pang of regret, Lizzy was doing so much better here, with people to talk to besides him, and he was about to take that away from her, hopefully only for a day. "Well, I remembered I knew about a woman who might have more information on Sergei Petrov." He watched as Elizabeth's face lit up with interest, then was slightly clouded by suspicion, "Why are you only telling me about this now?" That wasn't as bad as it could have been, hell, he could even answer her with total honesty, "I didn't want to overwhelm you so quickly after our last brush with the FBI, so I decided to wait. Plus, I needed to prepare for our exit, she lives in a rather isolated place, and, to be perfectly honest, she is a blacklister, so I intend to give Donald a shot at her once we've concluded our business, and driving away will no longer be an option." Elizabeth took a moment to process the answer, then asked a few questions, "Where does she live? If we can get to some where isolated, which is clearly not in DC, then why don't we just leave? How are you planning to leave if driving is not an option and you can't get to your jet," she paused for a moment, "That's about it, I think." Reddington chuckled, "She lives in a secluded part of Maryland, on the coast. Because I intend to get you out of the country, preferably somewhere where the cabal has considerably less influence, and that requires my jet, which, as you said, we can not get to, yet, I don't believe it will be much longer now. And by helicopter, of course." Elizabeth pondered the answers for a couple seconds then looked back at him, "When do we leave?" Reddington smiled, "Now, if you don't mind," she shook her head, "Oh, before I forget, I got this for you," he handed her a snub nosed revolver, "Unfortunately, your days of going undercover are not quite over yet, you'll be wearing this, and this is the only gun that will work with that outfit." She looked at him suspiciously as he handed her a plain plastic bag, looking inside, she huffed, glared at him a bit, and went to their shared room.

The Trollfarmer came up to him, "Will you still be needing my services?" Reddington smiled and laughed, "Of course, we still have to leave the country, this is just a side trip." The man huffed, "I'm still charging you by night, you know." Reddington just smiled, "I would expect nothing less my friend…Lizzy! You look amazing!" Elizabeth had come down the stairs at that moment, looking every inch an upper-class woman. Reddington grabbed his fedora, and offered her his arm. She smiled shyly and took it, "No need to be shy, my dear, you look wonderful. Tell me, where did you manage to stow the gun?" He smirked slightly when she swatted him.

He looked back, "We'll be back." The man nodded, and went back to work.

"So, how are we getting there, I can't imagine we'll be taking a helicopter from here?" He smiled, "No, there is a small area not too far from here that we will be leaving from."

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Ressler was right, the blood had been Keen's. But that didn't mean anything other than they had been correct in thinking that she had been there, they didn't know whether she was still alive, the forensics team had said there was nowhere near enough blood lost to be fatal, or even all that harmful, but that didn't mean that she wasn't cut there, and then taken somewhere else and killed. They were just about at the end of the line when his phone buzzed, he looked down at the message from a blocked number, _19 Queen's Court, Essex, MD, See you there. _Ressler growled, even on the run and caring for Elizabeth, the bastard still had time to play games with him. "Navabi, with me! Aram, get me everything you have on 19 Queen's Court in Essex Maryland!" Without waiting to be acknowledged, he began striding towards the elevator. Samar caught up to him just as he was entering, "Where are we going?" Ressler looked at her and she hurried to explain, "I mean what's there that has you dropping everything and going there?" Ressler scowled, "I don't know, I got a text from Reddington with that address and him saying he'd see me there. I don't know what his game is, but if there is even a chance of capturing one or both of them, I have to take it." Samar frowned at him, "What if this a trap to kill or capture you." Ressler shook his head, "I don't think he would do that. As annoying as it is, I think I amuse him, and if for no other reason than that, he'd probably let me live. But it's more than that, I think he knows that while I'm not on Keen's side, I do want to give her the benefit of the doubt, unlike some people." He was saved from her no doubt scathing retort by the elevator doors opening and a squad of agents waiting for his orders.

Line Break

**19 Queen's Court, Essex, MD**

Elizabeth watched as Reddington texted someone and then put his phone away. "Where do you get all these phones? I never see you picking up new ones, but you always seem to have at least one on you all the time, how do you do it?" Reddington just laughed, "Oh, Lizzy, you have to leave me with some secrets. Now listen, this woman is known as the Djinn, she is known as a woman that can grant wishes. I've referred you to her, and I am acting as your transportation. Do you understand? I will do most of the talking, you just have to stand there and look beautiful." Elizabeth just nodded, and allowed him to escort her off the helicopter. A woman dressed in Arabian garb came up to meet them, "Raymond Reddington, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Reddington strode forward, pulling Elizabeth with him, he took her hand and kissed the knuckles, "My dear, I am here to escort my lovely companion to you, she is in need of your services."

The woman raised and eyebrow at Elizabeth, "Oh, and what is it I can do for you?" Elizabeth looked at Reddington, who laughed and said, "Oh, of course, my apologies my dear, please excuse her, but she is terribly shy about talking to people she doesn't know. At any rate, we are here to inquire about a Russian named Sergei Petrov." The woman's eyebrow stayed where it was, but she replied to Reddington, "Of course, won't you please come in, and let me see what I can do."

They followed her inside and were led to plush and clearly expensive couches in an opulent living room. Looking around, Reddington commented, "Ah yes, your taste is impeccable, as always." Elizabeth thought she saw the ghost of a smile on the woman's face, before it was gone as quick as it came and she walked out of the room. Reddington casually looked at his watch before commenting, "We should be right on schedule," Elizabeth looked at him, "For what?" She asked, "For Donald and his boys to come in right when we need them to…Ah, there she is! I was just telling Mallory here about the time you helped me out in Mumbai." She smiled slightly at that and nodded, before turning to Elizabeth and showing her a leather-bound book, "In here is where I keep records of all my clients, along with a small bit of information about them. Unfortunately, I do not have any information on a Russian named Sergei Petrov, I am sorry my dear. I…" She was interrupted from saying anything else a man coming into the room and telling her about the fact that the FBI had just parked in her drive and was now approaching the house. "Oh dear, I'm afraid we really must be going then, come along Mallory, it wouldn't do to get caught by the FBI." Elizabeth nodded and took his arm once again as they moved back to their helicopter.

"Wait!" They turned to see the Djinn running after them, the FBI could be seen combing through the house briefly, but it was clear that the majority was making its way to the outside, where the helicopter could be heard preparing to take off. Even now, it was a few feet off the ground, and this prevented the woman from being able to easily get in with only one hand.

"Give me the book," Reddington called to her, she deliberated, but a gestured reminder of the FBI coming up behind her made up her mind, she handed it to him, and he took it. But when she made to get on, the helicopter started to rise once more, "I'm terribly sorry, my dear Djinn, but I'm afraid someone has already spoken for you." And with that, they made their way back towards DC. Elizabeth looked at Reddington in surprise, "Ressler asked for her? I didn't know she existed until you told me about her." Reddington smiled and shook his head, "Well, its more like I asked on behalf of the FBI, and then allowed them to pick her up."

Elizabeth frowned slightly, "Is it a good idea to let them know we are still around, I thought we were trying to make them stop looking as hard for us." Reddington shook his head, "No, while it would be ideal for them to not know we were still here I admit, the information in this book is too valuable, and she would only part from it in extreme duress, which the FBI did for us quite nicely, don't you think?" Elizabeth nodded and was quite for the rest of the trip back.

Line Break

Ressler swore as he watched the helicopter fly away, leaving him with nothing more than a woman. His phone buzzed _Her name is the Djinn. You'd be surprised what she knows. She's a blackslister. Oh, I'd also investigate her for the murder of her father._ He just growled, but ordered her arrest anyway. Even though he knew it to be futile, he still told Aram to be on the lookout for Helicopters coming into DC and the surrounding areas. It was hopeless though, because unless Reddington suddenly took leave of all of his mental faculties, he knew more than enough to evade being captured, even when he was traveling by helicopter. The man was simply too wily and skilled to be caught up by it. Samar came up to him, "That was them, wasn't it, Reddington and Keen?" Ressler shook his head slightly, "It was Reddington and someone, we don't know it's Keen, we haven't gotten proof either way whether that message was accurate or not, and until we do, we have to assume that Keen may be dead, and Reddington is traveling with someone entirely unknown."

Samar nodded, but didn't look quite convinced, "He was with a woman, I'm sure of it." Ressler looked at her, "That doesn't mean it was necessarily Keen, I'm sure he's got lots of female companions that he travels with." Even to his own ears that sounded slightly hollow.

Time Skip: 2 Days

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Ressler was right, nothing came of the helicopter alert. If he ever caught the bastard legitimately; he'd make him tell him how he did it. The problem he was encountering now, was that people higher up were starting to make noises about the agents he had watching private airstrips; the government hated to inconvenience the rich and powerful. He could only keep them where they were for another couple of days at the most before pulling them. He had to hope that Reddington and Keen would make their move before that happened, otherwise they would probably be out of the country before he could blink. Not that he would necessarily complain should that happen, at least in the safety of his mind. He was interrupted from his inner musings by an agent calling his name with a package. He absently signed for it, before looking quizzically at the plainly wrapped package.

"Who's it from?" Ressler started, "Don't you have _anything_ better to do than question me about the origins of my mail?" She shook her head with a slight smirk on her face. "Well, who _is_ it from?" Ressler glared at her, "I wouldn't know, _someone_ hasn't given me the chance to check." She just gestured towards it. He looked, but could find no indication of who had sent it, which, in it of itself, was a pretty good indication of who it was from. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say our favourite Concierge of Crime has sent me a package. He shrugged before opening the package. Inside, he found a leather-bound book with a few pages torn out here and there. The rest, however…"This is an absolute goldmine of information!" Samar just nodded, as stunned as he was, "Reddington must have torn out the pages which incriminated people he wanted to protect." Ressler could only nod his agreement, "However, this still doesn't help us find him or Keen, we have to assume this is an attempt by him to direct our focus elsewhere so they can leave." Samar shook her head in disagreement, "He doesn't need to do that, give it a couple of days and we can't watch the private airfields anymore. And he has to know that as well, so what's his play here?" Ressler could only shrug.

**AN: And were gonna end there, both because its 12 and I'm bloody knackered, but also because I want to have at least one more chapter before the end of this arc. My stupid ass has decided that my goal for this story is to break 100k words, but completing the first arc in five chapters with only about 3k words each is not helping me towards that end, since right now I only have about three arcs to this story. That can and probably will change, but right now, 30 chapters looks really far away. Yes, I used Google Translate. No, I have no shame. Deal with it. I don't speak Russian and don't know anyone who does, so my Google-fu will have to do. At least I'm acknowledging it, unlike some authors I've seen. Honestly, really annoying that, but now is not the time or place for me to rant about people butchering the French language. I'm going to stop talking now. G'night everyone.**


	4. Donald Wants To Talk

**AN: Okay, so like last time, I'm listening to something different as I write this, so blame weird writing on that, and not the fact that I've jumped in head first and prayed for the best. I'll be honest, this is a complete filler chapter. I don't even really know what I'm going to put in here. I know what I want to put in the next chapter, and if the writing gods are smiling upon me, the chapter after that as well. So, if I can BS my way through this chapter, I can probably actually make it to ten chapters in this arc. Wouldn't that be something, eh? **

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office, Same Day**

After giving the book to Aram and putting him and Samar on documenting and processing the names, Ressler went to his new office. And wasn't that still a bit hard to take in, for as long as he had been on the taskforce, this office had belonged to Cooper, and it still didn't feel right to call the office his. He sat down at the desk and put his head in his hands, and just tried to let the day's stress fall away. It didn't really work, but it was the attempt that counted, he supposed.

His primary concern was catching Keen and then making sure that she stayed safe and in his custody. He knew that this wasn't likely to work very long, if at all, but his was his duty as both her partner and her friend to at least try. But in order to do that, he had to catch her first, of which his chances of doing so decreased by the day, and he had precious few left until he had to recall the agents he had stationed at private airfields throughout and around DC.

Since all his leads had dried up, Ressler decided to go and visit with them personally. Though he didn't mean it as a slight against his agents, he figured he may be able to pick up on something that they missed or overlooked. He rolled his shoulders and got up and went downstairs to the main floor. "Aram, Samar, I'm going to go and talk with the agents I have stationed at the private airfields, see if I can't pick up on something they overlooked or missed." Samar stood up, "I'll go with you," Ressler shook his head, "No, stay with Aram, I'll be fine." Samar looked like she wanted to protest, but a hard look put a stop to it. Ressler nodded to them both, and made his way to the elevator.

Time Skip: 45 Minutes

**Somewhere in Washington DC, Private Airstrip**

Ressler pulled up in his nondescript black SUV, parking in the public lot for the airstrip. Walking inside, he flashed his badge to the man behind the desk, who paled a little and hastened to get up. "How can I help you today, Agent…" "Ressler," Ressler supplied, "Ressler. I hope you have a warrant if you intend to search the premise." Ressler shook his head, "Nothing like that, I assure you. No, I simply want to speak with the agents I have stationed here." The man nodded, his regaining its previous colour, "Oh, of course. Follow me please." Ressler nodded, and the man led him over to two men who were inconspicuously leaning against the wall, talking to each other. Upon noticing him, one of the men nudged him partner and they turned to him, "Sir, nothing out of the ordinary here so far." Ressler nodded, "Even so, I'd like a rundown on who has come through since you were stationed here, to simply double check your findings as it were. And I also wanted to personally let you and the other agents know that the director is not going to allow you to keep your current posting here much longer, I only managed to get her to agree to allow you all to stay for another couple of days. After that, you will be reassigned." The men nodded, then the one who hadn't spoken up to that point began to list who had come through the airfield, "Well, there were mostly business types, we talked to a few here and there, but the ones that we were really interested in were the civilians, especially the ones who weren't coming in from the states." Ressler nodded, "Were there any?" The man nodded, "Two, we talked to both under the guise of waiting for our own plane, and then ran their names, they were both clear." Ressler nodded, "Keep it up, Reddington and Keen are still at large, and we don't know where his plane is." The men nodded, and Ressler walked back out towards his car, nodding to the attendant as he passed.

Line Break

Ressler didn't have any more luck with the next two airfields, and was beginning to think this whole thing had been a huge waste of time, when he finally got something, but he honestly wasn't entirely sure exactly what it was that he had got. This airfield was one of the furthest outside of DC that he had placed agents at, which made him think that whatever this was, it was somehow important to what was happening right now with Reddington and Keen, but again, he just wasn't exactly sure how it factored in.

"You said you were concerned about this German when I called ahead?" The agent shook his head, "No sir, I said I thought he may be important, but I wasn't sure how or why." "Explain," Ressler demanded. The agent nodded, "Well, like I said on the phone, sir, he and I talked for a while, while he waited for his transportation, and while there was nothing overt, well, it was his name, sir." Ressler was a bit confused at that, "What about his name? Is it the name of a wanted criminal? A terrorist? Anything the Agency or others should be made aware of?" the agent shook his head again, "No, sir, nothing like that. Its just, I took a German culture class in Uni, and his last name is the German equivalent to our Doe, or the British Smith. I didn't ask him about it, but I did take a note of it, sir." Ressler nodded slowly, in contemplation, "You did well not to potentially spook him. Okay, I'll call in and have you relieved here, then I want you to give a description to our sketch artist. Understand?" The agent nodded, "Yes, sir." Ressler went to walk away, then paused and turned around, "This German, what was his name?" "Ernst Mustermann, sir," the agent replied. Ressler nodded, and turned and continued to walk back to his car. He had a couple calls to make.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

They weren't even a quarter of the way through the names in the book when the phone rang. Samar picked it up, "Navabi." She heard Ressler's voice on the other end. "An agent will be returning soon with a description for the sketch artist, when they're done, put it out on a discrete BOLO, law enforcement only, report but do not approach, is that clear, I don't want this guy spooked, you got all that?" Samar nodded, "Yes, are you coming back soon, we could use some help with this book." She didn't expect him to come back, and she wasn't disappointed by his answer, "No, I've got another lead I want to check out." Samar couldn't help the slight note of concern that slipped into her voice, he was taking this too personally, letting his emotions for Keen cloud his judgement, "You really should have someone with you to watch your back," Ressler just said, "Not for this," and hung up. Samar couldn't keep the growl of annoyance fully quiet, and Aram looked at her, concerned. She just waved him off and went back to work.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC, 30 Minutes later**

Ressler knew this was probably not going to end with him coming out unscathed, he was literally asking to pay the devil himself a visit, in a place of his choosing, so he knew it was likely he'd be going to hell itself. It was too late to back down now though, he thought as a wry smile _almost_ showed on his face as he ran after the man fleeing in front of him. It was only a few blocks later that he tackled the man to the ground and put a knee onto his back, right between the shoulder blades. "'Ey, what'chu want, ese? I was just mindin' my own business, what the feds want with me, eh?" Ressler was in no mood for playing games however, he pulled his gun and cocked it, causing the man beneath him to instantly still, "Woah, chill out holmes, I'm chill, I'm chill. Look man, I ain't no threat." True to his word, the gangster slowly and deliberately moved his arms away from himself, "How can I help you officer?" Ressler wasted no time, "I need to talk with Reddington, and if you can't get in touch with him, pass this message along until someone can: Donald needs to talk. You got it, _ese_?" The man nodded, "Yeah, I got'chu man, 'Donald wants to talk' I don't know who this Reddington guy is, but I'll pass it along, I promise." Ressler uncocked his gun and got up, "See that you do, and we won't have any further problems." The man got up slowly and walked away, hands away from his body. Ressler watched him until he turned a corner and disappeared form his sight.

Holstering his gun, he walked back a block or two, and purchased a newspaper from a kiosk. He sat down on a bench to read the paper and wait.

Time Skip: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes

Ressler was beginning to think that his plan wasn't going to work when an unmarked grey van pulled up right in front of him. Before he could react, a hood was shoved over his head, his arms were wrenched behind him and bound, and he was shoved non too gently into the back of the van, which then sped off. Through the weak light that filtered through the burlap, he was able to make out a figure above him, but before he could do anything more than squirm a little, he saw a blur head for his face and the world turned black.

Line Break

**30 Minutes Earlier**

"Lizzy, I have to go out for a while, there is something that requires my personal attention, I shouldn't be too long, and you'll be safe here." Elizabeth looked at him, concern shining in her eyes, "Please be careful, Red, you know everyone's looking for you." He just laughed, "Lizzy, that's no different from how I've lived for the past twenty years, today is no different, but I'll be careful regardless." She still looked concerned, but was pulled into a conversation about her upcoming photoshoot by one of the women there, Reddington shot her a grateful look, and got a slight nod in return. The Trollfarmer came up to him, "Your rides here, Red," Reddington nodded, and thanked him, then left.

Line Break

Donald Ressler was sure of only two things at the moment, the burlap hood was still obscuring his vison, and his head really hurt. Dimly, he could she vague shapes moving about, but couldn't make out more than that, until a man sat down in front of him, and the hood was suddenly removed. Blinking a couple times to adjust to the glare of the light being directed at him, he squinted at the figure in front of him and groaned, "Did you have to have them knock me out?" The man tsked, "You asked for me, Donald, and here I am. Now, what was so important for you to find me that you assaulted that poor man?" Ressler glared slightly at Reddington, before asking, "Do you ever tire of being so annoyingly sarcastic?" Reddington gave a short bark of laughter, "Not at all, I find its quite a refreshing change from people like you who are so serious all the time. Now, I'll ask only one more time, what was so important that you, a respected FBI agent, sought out me, the fourth most wanted man by that same agency?" Ressler nodded, "First, is Elizabeth still alive? Don't deflect me, I need to know the truth here, Reddington." Reddington looked honestly confused, "Of course she's alive, I told you she was fine over the phone, what on earth possessed you to think otherwise? Despite what you or others may think, Donald, I do only have her best interests in mind."

Ressler took a breath, slightly mollified by the response, "That message that she told you to lead me to?" Reddington nodded, "It was Russian, and said, 'Elizabet Kin mertva'," Reddington looked at him in slight surprise, "Elizabeth Keen is dead?" Ressler nodded, "It was written in blood, which we later identified as hers, and I didn't see her with you at the Djinn's mansion, so…" He trailed off, but Reddington nodded, "Yes, I do see how you could have come to that conclusion, but I don't believe that's the only reason you sought me out…?" Ressler shook his head, "You're right, it is the only reason I am alone, and didn't have your van followed." At this, Reddington chuckled, "As if my men wouldn't notice FBI agents following them, give them some credit, Donald, they are professionals, after all." Ressler didn't bother to dignify that with an answer, instead moving on to the other reason he was here, breaking who knows how many laws. Actually, that was a lie, he had a fair idea of how many laws he was breaking just now, but didn't allow himself to dwell on it for very long.

"What do you know about a German named Ernst Mustermann?" Reddington paused, considering, "The name does not sound familiar to me. Though I must say, Donald, I must confess myself slightly disappointed in you, being of German descent yourself, that you didn't realize the name Mustermann is…" "Fake, I know," Ressler interrupted. Reddington just nodded, not seeming put out at being interrupted. "Whoever he is, he is very brazen, that is for sure. I myself do not have any friends or contacts who use that particular name as an alias, what exactly brought him to your attention?" Ressler deliberated for a second, before deciding it could do no more harm than whatever he himself had done doing this, "I'm sure you're aware we are watching private airfields?" "I'm here, am I not," was the reply, Ressler just nodded, "Well, one of the agents stationed at an outlying airfield talked to him while he waited for transportation from the field, and noticed the name. He brought it to my attention today while I was talking to him." Reddington nodded, thinking for a while, before speaking again, "Your agent, I don't suppose he got a photo of the man?" Ressler shook his head, "He did talk to one of our sketch artists, however, I have the BOLO on my phone." Reddington motioned to one of the men in the room, and was handed Ressler's phone. "I'm sure I don't have to warn you against doing anything stupid?" The question was innocent enough, but Ressler could hear the underlying steel, and simply nodded. After Reddington offered him the phone, he simply raised and eyebrow and gestured with his still bound hands. "Of course, my apologies, Donald," Reddington made another motion and Ressler felt the cool steel of a blade against his hands as his bonds were cut. Nodding his thanks, he took the phone and pulled up the picture before handing it back. Reddington studied it for a moment, and Ressler could have sworn he saw something cross his face for the briefest moment, before he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Donald, but aside from putting your fears about Lizzy's well being to rest, I'm afraid you've wasted a trip."

Ressler wasn't quite fully convinced, however, and pressed, "Are you sure, you looked like you may have had a thought about it for a second." Reddington was quiet for a moment, before saying, "Let me help you quash any lingering doubts about Lizzy, shall I?" and pulled out his phone. Ressler grit his teeth, but kept silent.

The phone rang for a few seconds before the person on the other end picked up, Ressler couldn't make out what was said, but the voice didn't sound female, "Ah, yes, could you put Lizzy on please." Reddington pulled the phone away from his ear and tapped a button, a few seconds later, a voice that was unmistakably Elizabeth's answered, "Red? Is everything fine? Are you okay?" Reddington chuckled, "Everything's fine, Lizzy. Thank you my dear, you've been a great help." Before she could say anything else, he flipped the phone shut and handed it to one of the men. Looking back at Ressler, he asked, "Does that prove to you that she is still alive?"

Ressler wasn't entirely convinced, he knew that voices could be recorded and synthesized, but he would have to take Reddington's word. And, to be honest, when it came to Elizabeth Keen, Reddington's word was pretty good. He nodded, then paused, and groaned, "Samar and Aram, how am I going to explain this to them," he gestured to his face and hands, which showed clear signs of injury, "Without telling them about this," he gestured to the room at large. Reddington smiled, "Simple, you chased down a lead on Ernst Mustermann, and he turned out to be tougher than you expected." Ressler looked at him for a second, debating, before he sighed. Sounding resigned to what he knew was coming next, he looked to Reddington and said, "At least make it look good." Reddington just nodded at him, before nodding to one of the other men. He moved forward and gave Ressler a brief look of apology, before driving his fist into his gut.

**AN: Holy shit, I honestly can't believe I just did that. Sure, it took me 7 hours to write, which is the longest any of these has taken me without sleep or classes being a factor, but I still did it, and I honestly expected it to take longer than it did. But once I got about 700 words in, ideas just started coming to me and I rolled with them and then suddenly the chapter came into being. If I can do the same thing with next chapter, keeping it to mostly Elizabeth in the Trollfarmer's base, before moving towards the climax, that would be great. It would be even better if I held off moving towards the climax for one more chapter. That would, by my, admittedly kinda shaky, estimation bring us to chapter 7 or 8, and if I can then stretch that out two or three more chapters I could get this to right around 33k words, putting me right on track for the next two arcs to bring me to 100k. Which seems a lot more daunting than just bullshitting my way through a chapter or two that I have a vague idea of what to write about. But then again, maybe something I write in the next few chapters will give me an idea of how to do it. The point is, though, that 100k gets closer with each chapter I write.**


	5. Consider Us Even After This, General

**AN: Right, so my plan for this chapter is to keep it almost entirely focused on Elizabeth, like last chapter was almost entirely focused on Ressler. Just like last time, I have a few ideas on what to write about in here, but I don't know if I can turn that into 3k words, but I managed it before, so here's hoping I can do it again. If anyone's interested, I have settled into a music groove for writing, so that's something that I don't have to worry about anymore. It's the YouTube mix for Lee Brice's Drinking Class if any one cares. Anyway, without further ado, I give you more filler chapter because I can't write an outline to save my life. Oh, and I feel I should apologize in advance, being merely a lowly male, I've next to no idea of how to write an in depth female POV that isn't the kind of action-based scenes I've written before, so I am doing my best here, and we're going to leave it at that. **

**Somewhere in Washington DC, Hours Earlier**

Elizabeth was talking with one of the Trollfarmer's people that she had made friends with during her time staying there. Her name was Anise, and she was a very bubbly girl, always happy to answer any of Elizabeth's endless questions, and seemed to possess never ending patience. She also seemingly possessed the ability to simultaneously work on whatever project she was doing at the time, and carry on a conversation with Elizabeth at the same time. She reminded Elizabeth a little of Aram, aside from being less shy, and far more happy-go-lucky.

Elizabeth was grateful for Anise's presence in her temporary lodging, it made things so much more tolerable. Reddington was great and all, but sometimes she just needed someone to girl talk with, and boy did they talk! She felt kind of bad for the Trollfarmer, as he had walked over one time as they were discussing… well, better not to say, and she thought the poor man was going to faint from embarrassment! His face turned so red, and he spluttered out apologies before rushing from the room. He allowed Anise to use a private room and made sure to knock before entering from then on.

At any rate, she was talking with Anise about how they were going to get her out of the city. "Which airfield is Red's jet at?" Anise asked, "I don't know, let me get him," was Elizabeth's reply. However, just as she was making her way to the door, it opened and Reddington came through, "Inumede Field, my dear." Elizabeth gaped at him a little, she didn't know how the man did it, hell, she had even snuck over and wrenched the door open at random times and never saw him, but as soon as he was needed for an answer, he showed up out of the blue, not only knowing the question, but providing the answer during his grand entrance.

She huffed and stomped her foot a little, "Okay, seriously, _how_ do you do that?" Reddington just looked at her and smiled slightly, "Don't pout, Lizzy, its unbecoming for you. And how do I do what, exactly, you must elaborate." She glared a little at him, "How do you always know when someone's asking a question that requires you to answer, and then show up and give the answer, I never see you around, but yet you always know." Reddington just kept smiling, "Knowing things is my business, Lizzy, I would have thought you'd have known that by now." Elizabeth frowned, and raised an eyebrow at him, but when he refused to elaborate any further, she growled a little.

Anise laughed and grabbed her arm, "Down girl! Thank you for letting me know Mr. Reddington, we'll be doing her photo shoot later today, so I need to start planning logistics for it." Reddington smiled, "Of course, my dear, happy to help." With that, he left, Elizabeth glaring slightly at his retreating back. Anise laughed again and lightly smacked her arm, "Oh, give him a break, can't you see he loves to mess with you?" Elizabeth growled a little, "Yeah, but that doesn't change that fact that sometimes that man just infuriates me so much!" Anise smiled, "Have you ever thought that maybe that's just his way of showing you that he cares?" Elizabeth scoffed a little bit, "I'm not sure he has the capacity to care about anything but his empire and pocket book." Anise laughed, "Who uses pocket books anymore?" Elizabeth smirked a little, "Oh, I'm sure that he does. You know he doesn't use anything more advanced than a flip phone. Never mind what you've got set up here." Anise looked a little shocked, "I knew he was old fashioned, but nothing more than a flip phone? I could never live without my babies!" Elizabeth laughed at the way she wrapped her arms protectively around her computer and monitors. "Oh, but it gets better," Anise looked at her, "Oh?" Elizabeth smiled and nodded, "I'm sure I've seen him use a checkbook, I'm not sure if he even owns a credit card. Then again, what with being one of the FBI's most wanted, I can't see him walking into a bank and applying for one." Anise snorted, "Can you imagine? Him sitting in one of those god-awful chairs and filling out forms?" Elizabeth laughed and shook her head, "He'd demand to talk to the manager in a heartbeat, probably get the poor guy fired in a matter of minutes." Anise smiled and nodded, "Though, that does beg the question, how does he get his checks in the first place?" Elizabeth waved away the question, "Oh, he uses that fancy bank, Monarch, they deal with a whole host of criminals and the like." Anise ahh'd, and they kept on talking on a multitude of other topics.

From his place behind the door, Reddington smiled, Lizzy was doing much better nowadays.

Time Skip: 4 Hours

Reddington was sitting, enjoying some quiet, when the Trollfarmer came over with a phone, "Call for you Mr. Reddington." Reddington smiled and accepted the phone, "Thank you." Holding the phone up to his ear, he spoke, "Reddington, this better be good, you know I'm supposed to off the grid." The voice on the other end was one of his contacts in the local gangs, you never knew when you would need some hired muscle, and sometimes professionals were unadvisable or overkill. "One of my brothers, Ringo, just came back, said some fed roughed him up, then told him to pass on a message to Reddington, said 'Donald was lookin for him.'" Reddington nodded, it must be extremely important for Donald to search him out at the present time. "Thank you, JoJo, did your brother happen to say where this happened?" There was a garbled yell in Spanish, and a quieter, replying one, before JoJo spoke in English once more. "Yeah, says it happened off of Queensborough Avenue, but the fed had been chasing him since Siena." Reddington nodded. "Thank you, JoJo, I'll take care of things from here." Ending the call, Reddington dialed a new number, and waited for the person on the other end to pick up. "Jack, I have a job for you and your team. There is an FBI agent looking to meet with me. He will be somewhere between Siena and Queensborough. When you find him, take him, and bring him to Daniel's warehouse. Understand? Good, call me when you have him." Hanging up once more, he dialed one more time. When the other end connected, he spoke, "Daniel, Sometime in the near future, Jack and his team will be bringing someone to your warehouse, I would pack away any of your toys that you don't want getting damaged, the man they're bringing has the potential to be a fighter, and we wouldn't want any of your research damaged. I will be there in a while to talk with the man they are bringing in, so I will see you then." Hanging up for the final time, he went and found the Trollfarmer, to return the phone. Going back to his quiet contemplation, he wondered just what was so important. Donald Ressler was a very proud man, and he didn't like Reddington on the best of days. For him to do this, well, he was actually a bit worried about what Donald had to say. Deciding that he had had enough quiet contemplation for a while, he moved back over to where Lizzy was talking to her friend, Anise.

Line Break

Elizabeth and Anise were having their lunch in their private room, and still talking about whichever topics struck their fancy. Anise was talking about a past project of hers, when something she said got Elizabeth thinking, "Anise, I know you're really good with computers, there's someone I'm trying to find information on, the problem is, most of the world doesn't even know he exists, and most of those that do don't know much more than his name. Do you think you could try to find out some information about him?" Anise shook her head, "I'm not that great with finding out hidden information, my job is to spread misinformation, as you know. However, my twin sister, Freya, she might be able to help us, she's really good at finding information she's not supposed to know. Let me tell you, birthdays and Christmases are a lot less fun when you exactly what you're getting every year." Elizabeth laughed, "I'll bet." "Let me call Freya and get her over here, see if she can't dig up anything on your mystery man." Elizabeth nodded, "Thanks, Anise, I really appreciate it." Anise nodded as she pulled out phone and called her sister. "Freya, hey, how are you? … That's great to hear, I'm good. Listen, I've got someone here who needs some information on someone who not a lot of people know about. Think you could come over and give us a hand? … Perfect, see you then." She ended the called and smiled at Elizabeth, "She says she'll be over in about a half hour, and she can't wait to meet the framed FBI agent Elizabeth Keen. Elizabeth spluttered, "What? How?" Anise laughed, "I told you, she knows things that she shouldn't and I still don't know how she comes by half the stuff she does." Elizabeth shook her head, "Your sister's information network aside, finding out about me, and finding information on someone only the highest-ranking Russian officials know about are two completely different things." Anise shrugged, conceding the point. "Well, only one way to find out, hey?" Elizabeth nodded, and they started talking again, trying to get rid of the slight gloom that had settled over them with the slightly depressing turn the conversation had taken.

Time Skip: 30 Minutes

There was a knock at the door, and Anise invited them in. The woman that looked like Anise was expected, Reddington was not. Though it should not have been that unexpected, Elizabeth thought, he had a knack for knowing when interesting conversations were to take place and inserting himself in them. Anise got up and hugged her twin, then introduced the other two, "Freya, this is Elizabeth Keen," the two women shook hands, and Anise continued, "And this is…" "Raymond 'Red' Reddington, he introduced himself as he walked me here," Freya finished. "I understand you have an illusive man that you wanted more information on?" Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, a Russian that most people don't know exist." Freya smiled, "Well, lucky for you, I'm not most people, what's this mystery man's name?" Elizabeth looked at Anise who smiled and nodded at her, "It's okay, Liz, you can trust her." Elizabeth nodded, "His name is Sergei Petrov, only the highest-ranking Russian officials would even know his name, let alone anything about him." Freya laughed and smiled, "Well then, its your lucky day, I happen to have a Russian General who owes me a favour for keeping some information secret. Let me call him up." Elizabeth looked at her, shocked, "You'd spend a favour with a Russian General for me?" Freya laughed, "You're forgetting, any information you get, I get as well, and I'm always looking for new information. Elizabeth nodded; it did make sense. She watched as Freya pulled out her phone and dialed a number. When the man on the other end picked up, Freya spoke, "Hello General! Remember me? … Good, listen, its time for you to pay up. I need your access to classified documents, specifically any pertaining to a man named Sergei Petrov. … Listen, you can change your password after this, My client is on a deadline here. … Yes, you have my word that is all I will be looking for, but I need you to make sure that we don't have FSB knocking down our door for accessing this. … Good! Consider us even after this, General. Bye Bye!" Elizabeth was stunned, Freya spoke to people with a level of audacity matched only by Reddington himself. She was broken from her musings by Freya, "Anise, dear, do you mind if I borrow your computer for this. Anise looked at her, "You're not going to get caught, right?" Freya laughed, "No, the General knows not to mess with me, its completely safe." Anise nodded, and gestured to her computer. Freya sat down and opened pages so fast Elizabeth couldn't keep track of where she was going. Finally, she stopped at an innocuous looking login page. Elizabeth watched as she typed in 'H, George' and a string of letters and numbers. "George doesn't seem a very Russian name," Elizabeth commented, "His family emigrated when he was a young boy," was Freya's distracted answer. A little while later, she softly swore. "What's the matter, Freya?" Anise asked. Freya shook her head, "Even with his clearance, most of these documents are redacted, among other random bits of unimportant information, the best I can get is what seems to be a list of aliases." Reddington moved closer, "Excuse me, my dear, but do you mind if I take a look at those, its possible I know the man under a different name." Freya nodded, and allowed him to copy down the list of names. He hummed, "I'm sorry, Lizzy, but none of these names seem familiar." Elizabeth nodded, slightly disappointed. Freya nodded and logged off, "Well, not exactly what I was hoping for, but they can't all be winners, hey? Anise, I've got to go, but do stop by sometime, I'll treat you to dinner. You know that high class hotel on 5th? I've got some dirt on the manager, anything on the menu, for free." Anise smiled and hugged her sister, "I'll keep that in mind, it was great to see you again Freya." Freya waved good bye, and left.

Just then, the Trollfarmer came over to Reddington with a phone. Reddington took it and walked a distance away. "Reddington." "Sir, we got him. We're taking him to Daniel's warehouse now." Reddington nodded, "Good work, Jack, I'll be there in half an hour." "Yes, sir"

Reddington hung up, "Lizzy, I have to go out for a while, there is something that requires my personal attention, I shouldn't be too long, and you'll be safe here." Elizabeth looked at him, concern shining in her eyes, "Please be careful, Red, you know everyone's looking for you." He just laughed, "Lizzy, that's no different from how I've lived for the past twenty years, today is no different, but I'll be careful regardless." She still looked concerned, but was pulled into a conversation about her upcoming photoshoot by Anise, Reddington shot her a grateful look, and got a slight nod in return. The Trollfarmer came up to him, "Your rides here, Red," Reddington nodded, and thanked him, then left.

Time Skip: 30 Minutes

**Warehouse Somewhere in Washington DC**

Reddington's ride pulled u to a particular warehouse in a line of them in the industrial district. He got out and went inside. Waiting on him was Jack and his team. A small group of professionals numbering only three, four if one counted Daniel, the researcher and logistics expert. The other members consisted of a fierce female fighter and the marksman of the group, Sam, and the muscle and CQC expert was a tall, muscular black man who went only by the name T. Only Sam, Jack and Daniel knew his real name. The four of them were some of his favorites to use whenever he could. Sometimes a larger force was simply necessary, and for those occasions he normally called upon Pip and his merry band of mercenaries, the Wild Geese.

Jack spoke, breaking Reddington out of his thoughts. "He's through there, we can stay outside if you want." Reddington shook his head, "I find its sometimes best to have a few vicious looking goons standing behind me, as long as they're my goons, of course." Jack nodded, and led the way into the back room.

Time Skip: 15 minutes

Reddington sat pondering the information Donald had given him. Every once in a while, Reddington would hear a particularly pained grunt from Donald. He pitied the man, T knew what he was doing, and while he would be fine in a week or so, the bruises would be very convincing. He pulled out the list of names that he had copied from the file Freya had found, and sure enough, Ernst Mustermann was one of the names on the list. So, Sergei Petrov was in the country, DC no less. This prompted the question, was he here simply to be available in case Elizabeth needed him, or was he planning on taking preemptive action? Reddington wasn't sure which, but he would be on his guard more than usual anyway. Glancing up lazily at Donald, he turned and nodded to Jack, who nodded back. "T, that's enough." Stopping mid-punch, the man nodded and walked back. Ressler coughed, "Well, this'll certainly be convincing. Don't suppose you'd mind dropping me off near The Post Office." Reddington nodded, "Jack and his team will drop you off at a location of your choosing. I hope I don't surprise you when I say this changes nothing, Donald. I will still do everything in my power to get Lizzy safely out of this country." Ressler nodded weakly, "I wouldn't expect anything less." Reddington stood up, "Well, I have to say, this was rather fun. Feel free to keep in touch Donald." There was a wheezing laugh from behind him as he walked away, a small smile on his face.

**AN: Huh, I actually managed to save some content for next chapter. Funnily enough, the one thing I thought I was sure to put in this chapter, I didn't. Also, I don't know why, but I absolutely filled this chapter with references, I'll be very impressed if anyone gets them all. Admittedly, most of them are from one show, but hey, I was feeling a little nostalgic, and plus its one of my favorites. Most of these people will be making appearances later on in some capacity or another, so that's why I named them, instead of just using other ways to address their characters. I don't like having a lot of randomly named people that never show up again, so it's a safe bet that if someone is named, they'll show up later somehow. I'll try not to break that rule, I probably will, but I'll do my best to keep the times I do that to a minimum.**


	6. Do Not Come Closer, Or I Detonate Bomb

**AN: Okay, chapter six, honestly, I have more back logged plot points than I expected to have, for both Ressler and his group, and Reddington and Elizabeth. Huh, I just noticed that of all the main characters in the show, only four are consistently called by their first names, Tom, Elizabeth, Aram and Dembe. Admittedly, I think it'd be weird for Ressler to be called Donald by Elizabeth, but then again, he's a very formal, by the book kind of guy anyway, so I suppose… Anyway, rambling again, I'll start writing the bloody story now. Enjoy the next chapter everyone.**

**Future Me: I really don't know where the majority of this chapter cam from, but enjoy anyway.**

**Somewhere in Washington DC, Same Day**

The moment Reddington walked through the door, he was confronted by an angry and worried Elizabeth. "Red! What the hell was that phone call about?" Reddington laughed, "Lizzy, I was merely easing Donald's fears about you being dead." Elizabeth waved her hands in front of her face, "Woah, wait, slow down. Ressler? You were talking to Ressler? Red, you said you'd be safe, that wasn't safe! What if he had set up an ambush?" Reddington gently grabbed her shoulders, "Lizzy, I told you I wouldn't take any chances, and I didn't. I had an associate of mine and his team pick Donald up and take him to a location of my choosing. They would have known if they were being followed and they weren't." Something about the way he said that made Elizabeth's face pale, "You didn't hurt him, did you?" "Well…" Elizabeth was incensed, "Red!" It was Reddington's turn to raise his hands, this time in surrender, "I did nothing that he did not ask me to do. Well, except for when he was initially taken, but that was unavoidable." Elizabeth looked at him, scrutinizing, before she sighed, "I'm sorry, Red, I just panicked when you said you met with him. But what do you mean you didn't do anything he didn't ask for? He asked you to hurt him?" Reddington looked at her, "He asked me to make it look like he had got into a fight with someone who was tougher than he thought. One of Jack's men filled the role nicely." Elizabeth put her hand to her mouth, "Oh, god, how bad?" Reddington waved her concerns away, "The man's a professional, Lizzy, he'll be fully functional in a week at most." She nodded, slightly mollified.

Reddington clapped his hands together, "Now then, Lizzy, how's your photoshoot coming?" She opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again, "Hey, wait a minute, you said that Ressler thought I had died, where did he get that idea?" Reddington just looked at her, "Elizabet Kin mertva." Elizabeth blushed, "Oh, yeah, kinda forgot about that," she gave a weak chuckle. Reddington just looked at her, "Do you want to explain to me what you meant by writing that, Lizzy?"

She looked down, toeing the ground, "I'd rather not right now," She saw his face and hurried to explain, "I'll tell you, I promise, I just don't want to do it just yet." Reddington nodded, "That's fine, Lizzy, you can tell me when you're ready." She nodded, and gave him a small smile. "Now, about your photoshoot…?" She perked up, "Oh, yeah, Anise helped me, we did it in a lot of different outfits and hairstyles, which didn't quite make sense, but I guess she's the expert here." Anise looked up and called, "And don't you forget it! The reason we did it like that is because that way it doesn't seem like a picture of you being pasted over different backgrounds, and the police may even think its different women looking like you, instead of what it really is. Of course, that's one strategy, another we could do is one style on different backgrounds and stagger the posts so that it looks like you're moving erratically. Either way, the police will be forced to check them out, and that will give you and opening to slip out while their officers are tied up elsewhere."

Elizabeth nodded, "Why don't we start now, and post throughout the days, so they'll have to keep coming to check it out." Anise shook her head, "While that might work for a day, two at the very most, eventually they'll stop taking them so seriously. No, its better to do it in the span of an hour or two, so they'll seem more real." Elizabeth nodded, conceding the point.

Reddington looked at Anise, "So the photos are ready, we're just waiting for the right time to do it?" She nodded, "Since Inumede Field is to the west of the city, we're going to mainly focus on sightings to the east. That way they'll be as far away from you as possible."

Elizabeth was concerned on one point though, "What if someone figures out it fake and goes west?" Anise shook her head, "Hasn't happened before." But Elizabeth kept pressing, "That doesn't mean it won't happen, though." Before Anise could reply, Reddington did, "Lizzy's right. Have you ever had to fool a specialized FBI taskforce?" Anise paused, "Well, no. We haven't had to fool the FBI before." They were quiet for a few minutes before Elizabeth asked what they were all thinking, "So, what do we do about it?" Anise thought about it, "Well, it won't work if the sightings are too spread out, what we do works because they are close enough to be believable, but far enough apart that each requires more officers to go check it out. We could make a radius around a certain point, but that has risks of being discovered as a ruse. Honestly, I think your best bet is to stick with the original plan." Elizabeth put her hand up, "Wait, what if we waited to post the pictures until Red and I had left, then made a circle in some random part in east DC?" It was Reddington who shook his head this time, "No, Lizzy, Anise is right, its best to stick with the original plan. They haven't failed yet, and we have to just believe that even with the FBI looking as well, this will work."

Elizabeth nodded her head.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

The elevator announced the visitor, and no one paid much attention to it, until the first gasp was heard. Walking with a limp towards the front of the room was interim head Ressler, looking like he had fought twelve men and only barely won. Defiantly, he glared at the room in general. "What are you all looking at? Get back to work! Aram, Navabi! Have you got anything for me?" Slowly the occupants of the room went back to what they were doing before he arrived, most trying, and failing, to stealthily watch as he made his way along.

When he got to where Aram and Samar were sitting, he simply raised an eyebrow. Aram hurried to speak, "We, uh, haven't found anything that would indicate who the people on the pages that Reddington tore out are, but we're about half way through documenting all the information." Ressler nodded, and looked to Samar, "You have something to say, Agent Navabi?" She looked at him for a second, "Yes, I do. I said you should have taken someone with you, and look what happened." Ressler gave her a hard look, "I said no, Agent Navabi, I was tracking down a lead that wouldn't have taken kindly to another person with me. As it stands, he wasn't as inclined to talk as he first appeared. Annoyingly, he knew less than I had hoped about our mysterious Mr. Mustermann. Speaking of which, have we gotten any hits with our BOLO?" He was looking at Samar, but it was Aram that answered. "Uh, actually, we have sir, a beat cop saw him checking into a motel on the other side of town."

Ressler nodded, "Okay, Navabi, you're with me. Aram, keep working on that book." Samar looked like she wanted to argue, but Ressler didn't give her the chance, getting up and moving as fast as his injuries would let him. "Aram, text me the address." He heard a 'yes, sir' in reply and kept moving.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC, 45 Minutes Later**

The sound of footsteps could be heard from outside the sparsely furnished room. The man inside looked up when they stopped in front of his door. He looked at the window for a moment, then shook his head, it wouldn't do to mess things up this late in the game. He sighed, they had been quicker than he expected, looks like it was time to play his role in things. He only hoped that his contribution would save the girl. He looked at the photo in his hand, and kissed the face of the girl in it. "I love you, my darling Mariya, we'll be together again soon." He pocketed the picture as the sound of a key being turned echoed through the room. Picking up his gun, he stood up, making sure his hand was clearly visible. As the footsteps came closer, he pondered on the fact that the man who had hired him for this job probably chose one of the best candidates for it. He had no love lost for Americans, and would gladly die taking a few out with him, but for a Russian, even if she didn't acknowledge it yet, well, there was nothing he wouldn't do.

As the woman rounded the corner, he yelled out, "Stop! Do not come closer or I detonate bomb!" She came up short, and tried to look as non-threatening as possible. He continued, "Do not shoot me or bomb explodes anyway!" To emphasize, he showed her the dead mans switch he was holding. She put her hands up. "No sudden moves. Put gun on ground and kick it away. Do it slow" She complied, then looked at him. "I am Mossad Officer Samar Navabi, on loan to the FBI. Are you Ernst Mustermann?" He barked out a harsh laugh, "Do I sound German to you devchushki? I don't care who you are. Put me in contact with superior officer!" She looked steadily at him, "My superior is in no shape to negotiate with you, I am, however perfectly qualified to do so.

He was having none of it, however, "Net! Bring superior to me or I detonate bomb!" When she made to move, he raised his hand, "Stay! Call them! Slowly." She slowly pulled out her cell phone.

Line Break

"What the hell is taking her so long?" Ressler muttered as he looked at the open door leading to the motel room that Samar had gone into a few minutes earlier. He knew it shouldn't have taken her this long to either come back out, or call in something. He was about to call her when his phone rang. "Navabi, what is taking you so long?" her voice was steady as she replied, "Ressler, there is a Russian with a bomb vest and a dead mans switch. He is refusing to talk with anyone other than you, in person." Ressler felt his heart speed up, "Samar, I'm on…" his phone lost the connection, "My way." He struggled out of his car and trekked over and up to the room. He slowly made his way inside where he saw both Samar and the Russian. The man turned to him, "Put gun on floor and kick it away, slowly! Or I detonate bomb!" Ressler did as he asked. "Okay, I'm here, what is it that you want." The man looked at him, "Tell everyone. I want to be on news right now. But know this, if I hear one person leave, I detonate bomb. In room next to me is kidnapped senator. His room filled with bomb to. If anyone open door or window, bomb explode. I have friend," here he pointed to his ear, "He talk to me. If he stop talking to me, I blow up bomb. If he tell me people leave, I blow up bomb. If he tell me people try to save senator, I blow up bomb. If you attempt to do anything other than what I say, I blow up bomb. Nod head if you understand." Ressler slowly nodded his head. "You want me to tell the people you have a bomb now?" The man nodded, "Yes, and if my friend no see news van in ten minutes, I blow up bomb. If my friend no see me on news in ten minutes, I blow up bomb. And remember, if people leave, I blow up bomb. Might want to bring agents to make sure that does not happen, no?" Ressler nodded.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Aram picked up the phone, and listened, his face turning paler by the second. "Yes, sir, I'll get on it right away.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC, 10 minutes later**

"Oh my god, Liz, turn on the news!" Elizabeth looked at Anise with concern, and turned on the tv. Her hands flew to her mouth as she saw the breaking news story of a bomb threat and a kidnapped senator. Which had been confirmed to be senator Davis.

Looking on from the corner, Reddington hummed thoughtfully, "Let the game begin," he murmured.

Line Break

"Alright, the news van is here, the story is being broken, and no one has left, what now?" Ressler asked. The man was quiet for a moment, then nodded his head, "I want interview." Ressler was taken aback, "I can't allow a civilian to enter this area. "Net! I want interview in ten minute or I blow up bomb! And it need to be live. Remember, my friend watching," He pointed to his head, and grinned nastily. Ressler nodded slowly, "Okay, let me make a call," The man shook his head, "I want reporter and camera from van outside." Ressler nodded, "Can I use my phone to call them?" The man nodded.

Time Skip: 10 Minutes

The female reporter slowly entered the building with her camera man. She slowly made her way over to the Russian, and nearly jumped out of her skin when the man barked out, "Camera stay with agents!" She hastily nodded her head, and moved closer. Taking a deep breath, she stood next to the man and looked at the camera, but the man stopped her, talking to the cameraman he asked, "Is live?" the man nodded. He nodded back and said, "Good, remember, my friend watching, and if he does not see me, I blow up bomb." The man nodded his head desperately. She took another deep breath and then looked at the camera, "My name is Julia Andrews with Channel 5 News, stood next to me is the Russian man who is wearing a bomb vest, he has requested this interview. Sir, if you do not mind, may I ask your name?" The man hesitated then shook his head. "My friend say not to tell name." Julie looked at him, "You've mentioned your friend a couple of times, who is he?" The man pointed to his ear, "He tell me what to do, and what is happening. He is eyes and ears to outside." Julia nodded, "Okay, sir, you requested this interview, I assume there is something you want to tell the general public?" He nodded, "Da, I want to tell government of United States they have one hour to release information on Polebirsk drone attack to general public, or I blow up bomb. My friend will tell me if they comply, so no tricky stuff or I blow up bomb. You stay here until then, yes?" Julia nodded. He turned to look at the camera, "Turn off camera!" he waited, then nodded. He turned to look at her, "You have family to go home to?" She shakily nodded, "Y-yes, a wife and daughter." He looked surprised, "Wife?" She nodded, a bit more defiantly, to her surprise, he smiled slightly at her, suddenly looking sad and tired, fishing in his pocket, he brought out a faded photograph of a young woman, "This is my Mariya. She will never get chance to have wife. No one from my village will have chance to have husband or wife. Children will not have chance to grow up, go to school, fall in love, have small children of their own. I should have been there with them, I'm sure you wish this was so, yes?" She shook her head, and was surprised to find that she meant it, sure she was scared of dying, but suddenly the man next to her was a lot more human. "What happened to all of them?" He sighed and shook his head, "If government no talk, I tell you in hour, yes?" She swallowed, but nodded. He suddenly perked up, "Turn back on," he pointed to the camera man, who fiddled with a few buttons and said something into his microphone, before nodding at the man. He looked at the camera, "I have one more thing to say, United States government must send report on attack to me, this is all." The camera was turned off again

Line Break

**The Pentagon, Washington DC**

It was complete pandemonium in the building. People were debating on whether or not they should capitulate to the demands of the Russian. It took them most of the hour, but they eventually decided they would not deal with the man, after all, the United States government does not negotiate with terrorists. That was when the news flickered back on and an aide burst into the room.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC, 55 Minutes later**

Julia looked at her watch nervously, there were only five minutes left until the man's deadline, and she had heard nothing of the government releasing the documents. Suddenly she saw her cameraman flash her a thumbs up, and she turned to the man, "The documents have been released," He nodded, but then said, "Until I have document in my hands, clock is still ticking." No sooner had he said that, then a man came into the room. He slowly walked over to the man, who kept a wary eye on him. He slowly reached his hand into his suit and pulled out a sheaf of papers, "Compliments of Mr. Reddington. He hopes you find them most enlightening. He also wishes to tell you that the documents have been distributed as widely as possible. Very few, if any people, are unaware of the atrocities done to your village by the United States government, Mr. Kassovski." Julia had noticed that the two agents had stiffened at the name 'Reddington' so she stopped the man from leaving. Turning to the Russian, "Mr. Kassovski, do you mind if I do a quick interview with this man?" He was silent, then nodded. She turned back to him after getting the go ahead, "Sir, you said these are from a Mr. Reddington, would this be the same Mr. Reddington who is the number four on the FBI's most wanted list?" The man simply nodded, "And you said that he is the party responsible for disseminating the documents, _not_ the United States government?" He nodded, "Yes, the United States government had decided not to release the documents on the basis that they do not negotiate with terrorists. Mr. Reddington thought that was a ridiculous waste of life, and talent," he nodded to her, "And so he decided to release the documents himself." Julia blushed a little, despite the situation, but continued on, "Just how did he get them?" The man smiled, "Mr. Reddington can get almost anything if he so desires." She nodded, "Last question, what happened in Polebirsk, just a general overview will suffice. For our viewers who haven't yet had a chance to view the documents themselves." The man nodded, "Polebirsk is something the government would rather stay unknown, it was a supposedly a drone training exercise, testing the guidance system on a new, high yield warhead. The drones were never supposed to fire the rockets, but they did anyway. For most of those who knew of the incident, it was a horrible freak accident and tragic loss of life, but for a few, they knew the truth. Polebirsk was home to Mr. Kassovski here, who was on a governmental watchlist for suspected terrorist activities. He was supposed to be at home when the strike occurred, but had been called away at the last minute, unknown to the government, who went ahead with the attack as planned. Mr. Kassovski came back to his village burning. There were no other survivors." Julia looked at Mr. Kassovski, who had tears running down his face as he looked at the picture of Mariya. She looked back at the man and nodded, "Thank you for your time, sir." He nodded and left. She looked back at Mr. Kassovski, who smiled slightly at her, "You and camera go now. Leave area, my friend watching." She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but he didn't sound as threatening as before, almost kind, "Wait," she turned around, "I'd like to shake hand, you do me great service today." She smiled slightly at him, and shook his hand, then left, her cameraman in tow. He looked at the agents, then cocked his head. Nodding he said, "You leave, no one else, remember, my friend watching. They started to protest, when he simply said, "Desyat." The man cocked his head and the female furrowed her brow. "Devat." The man still looked confused while the woman's eyes widened, she began to pull at him, telling him to move. "Vosem." They were out the door by the time he said, "Sem."

Line Break

When she figured out the man was counting down, Samar Navabi knew they didn't have much time. She pulled Ressler with her as fast as she could. She could hear him say 'seven' as they ran out the door. She had just thrown them both behind Ressler's car when the world exploded.

Line Break

Julia Andrews walked robotically outside, feeling the scrape of paper in her hand. Reddington's man bumped into her, "Oh, my apologies, Mrs. Andrews, I wasn't looking where I was going. Have a good rest of the day." She nodded, and only later would she find a card with a phone number slipped into her pocket. For now, she and her cameraman got into the van and began to drive off. "Stop," she said. Her cameraman looked at her, "He'll blow himself up if we don't." She shook her head, "He's going to blow himself up anyway," She opened her hand to reveal the picture of Mariya, the man's daughter. She opened the door and got and, and simply stood, watching the building for a moment, before it was engulfed in a great ball of fire and destruction. She looked down at the photo still clutched in her hand, "He's with you now." As she looked up at the burning and destroyed complex, a felt a tear roll down her cheek.

Line Break

**Somewhere outside of Washington DC, Airfield**

"_Good, they aren't here anymore, let's move. Head for the meeting point_"

**AN: Bloody hell, almost 4k words. Okay, confession time, I have absolutely **_**no idea**_** where this whole idea came from. I promise this story isn't going to be a day by day thing, that's just how the muse decided this chapter was going to go. I can't really say I'm complaining, as I'm all for more content, but still, bloody hell that came out of nowhere. I promise that my mind has already come up with a way to use it, but this was not where I had planned this chapter to go when I started it. I may actually just time skip to where I wanted to get this chapter to at the beginning of next chapter so my muse doesn't have the chance to pull this shit again.**


	7. No Worse Than Monthlies, Though, Hey

**AN: Right, so I have decided to skip a day, so, by my calculations (Which are really the only ones that matter) we're a day away from the great escape (brilliant movie, by the by). This is so I can get a few reactions to the events of last chapter, but don't expect everyone's reactions, I'll cover a few, mainly Julie and Elizabeth, but that'll probably be it (/me prays my muse doesn't decide to write a chapter solely on the reactions of people). Spoiler, the information that Red released has, at this point (because we've all seen that my muse doesn't give a damn about what I think should go in a chapter) no real impact on the story, I just needed something for the guy to want the general American public to know about that the government covered up. The impacts of the knowledge contained in the documents, however, might have an effect. However, most people, if it doesn't affect them directly, won't care all that much. Sure, they'll say, 'oh, how terrible,' but they won't go to the streets to protest it, sure there **_**will**_** be protests, but at this point, let's be honest here, protests don't do much. Anyway, unless my muse decides to hijack the story again, we're approaching the climax of the first arc. Though, is it really hijacking if my muse is the one coming up with everything anyway? Also, I didn't realize it at the time, but I did some Google-fu, and I'd like to clarify that Julia Andrews is **_**not **_**at all based on actress Julie Andrews. I promise. If you knew how uncultured I am, you'd believe me in a heartbeat as well. Right, rambling. Enjoy the story.**

**Somewhere in Washington DC, One Day Later**

Julia Andrews was in her bed with her wife and daughter, basking in the warmth they gave off as they slept peacefully. She sighed and looked at the clock, 4:57. She had had fitful sleep that night, following the events of the day before, remembering the Russian man who had lost his daughter. Admittedly, her sleep was also fraught with nightmares where Reddington's man didn't get to the motel in time, and she was killed, leaving the two girls next to her alone. She sighed again; she wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight anyway. She got up and got ready to meet the day. Even though she had been given the next few days off, it just wasn't her to spend the day in bed, no matter how much it might sound appealing. She gathered her clothes from the day before and was about to put them in the hamper, when she heard the crinkle of paper. Curious, she looked through her pockets until she found a slip of paper in her jacket pocket. On it was a phone number. Intrigued, she looked at the back, on which was written, _Regards, RR_.

Of course, she knew who it was right away, after all, she had been saved by him, not directly, but by his actions. She looked at the clock again, and watched it switch over to 5:00. Shrugging, she grabbed her phone and stepped outside. Dialing, she waited. "Hello, my name is Julia Andrews, I did the interview with the Russian yesterday…"

Line Break

Elizabeth woke up as Reddington answered a call on the phone given to him by the Trollfarmer. Listening as he revealed he was talking to the reporter who he saved yesterday, she scowled a bit, she should have _known_ that he had ulterior motives for doing what he did. Sure, he found Ressler amusing and that was probably enough in his mind to warrant saving the man, and thus the rest of them by proxy. But she should have _known_ that Raymond Reddington never did anything solely for his amusement, there was always some angle that he was playing. It seems his angle this time was ingratiating himself with the reporter, Julia Andrews. For what, she didn't know, but she would be having a chat with him when he was finished talking.

When he finished talking and hung up, she rounded on him, "Okay, Red, what are you planning on making that poor woman do?" He looked at her, false innocence shining in his eyes, "Lizzy, you wound me. I'm not planning on making her do anything." She just raised an eyebrow at him, "Okay, so I may have let slip that I know someone who can get information no one else can, but that's it." Elizabeth smiled, "You're talking about Freya." Reddington just nodded. Elizabeth frowned once again, "You're sure you had no idea this was going to happen?"

"Lizzy, just because I own and operate a massive criminal empire, does not mean I'm all knowing about all crime and such that goes on around the world. And while I'm not as connected right now as I usually would be, something of this caliber would certainly have been brought to my attention. So, no, I had absolutely no idea about it. Which, in it of itself, is slightly worrying, a kidnapped senator and a slew of bombs, none of my contacts alerted me to such a thing. So they either went to someone I have no affiliation with, unlikely as my people are the best at what they do, or this was done completely insularly, meaning the people that kidnapped the senator are the same people who made the bombs, and got the equipment, and so forth. Which is worrying. That speaks to a diversity and specialization that is ex-military, probably special forces. Given that they used a Russian, we must assume one of three things is true. Either they used him to throw off our trail, and that means we are either facing a homegrown group, or the United States is unknowingly harboring foreign insurgents. Or, and I think given the current circumstances this option is by far more likely one, this is the first move from our friend Sergei Petrov." Reddington said.

Elizabeth just nodded, clearly thinking over the load of information she had just been given.

Time Skip: One Day

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office, 2 Hours later**

Ressler sighed, the last of the agents stationed at private airfields had just reported back. It was official, Reddington and Keen could stroll right into his plane and they wouldn't know a thing about it. He was feeling conflicted, not a very unusual occurrence over the past week or so. One the one hand, he knew Reddington could protect her a lot better than he could, and boy did that hurt his pride to admit, even just in his own head. On the other hand, however, his pride as an agent demanded that he catch them. Intellectually he knew that no one would blame him, after all, he had failed to catch Reddington for five straight years before he turned himself in, demanding to talk only to Keen. But to Ressler, the fact that he was caring for Keen meant that he should have been easier, after all, she was still new to field work, and more likely to make a mistake. But again, intellectually he knew that was wrong as well. For whatever reason, Reddington cared, actually cared, for Keen. This meant that he would take every precaution possible to make sure she stayed safe. He put his head in his hands. He was out of options and leads; he was now having to hope that Reddington made a mistake before they fled the country. In all likelihood, they had already left. He sighed, there were the conflicted feelings again. He decided to take a walk, get some fresh air, clear his head. Maybe something would come to him.

Time Skip: 2 Hours

**Somewhere in Washington DC**

The Trollfarmer came up to Reddington. "We're ready when you are." Reddington nodded, and walked over to where Elizabeth and Anise were talking, "Lizzy, we're just about ready, say your goodbyes, we've got a plane to catch." Elizabeth's smiled faltered a little, but she quickly schooled her features, she turned and hugged Anise, whispering something to her as she did so. She got up and grabbed the bag that she had packed that morning in preparation for leaving. She said her goodbyes to the rest of the Trollfarmer's people, thanking them for what they were doing, before she turned to Reddington and nodded, "I'm ready." He smiled, "Chin up, Lizzy, by this time tomorrow, you'll be on a beach somewhere, relaxing and not having to worry about anything. Now, we will be taking separate vehicles, just to be safe. I'm afraid yours will be a bit more uncomfortable, but it is your face currently on every news station and flyer, not mine, at least, not any more than usual." She nodded, and he continued, "We'll be using the same team that picked up Donald. T will be driving me, but Sam will be taking you in a specially made delivery van." Elizabeth nodded and together they waited for their rides to show up.

The delivery van turned out to have a crawl space under a workbench that she would be hiding in. After she was situated, Sam closed the door, and jumped into the driver's seat. "All set back there," she called, "Yeah, bit cramped, but I'll manage." Sam laughed, "No worse than monthlies, though, hey?" Elizabeth laughed, "Guess not. Ready when you are." Sam called back, "We're waiting for T to go first."

Reddington climbed into the car, "Well, I suppose now would be a good time to contact the Trollfarmer and let him know we're ready. T nodded, and sent a text, "It is done." Reddington nodded, "Jack's meeting us at the airfield, then?" T nodded, "Indeed." "Then let us be off, my good man." "I will let Sam know." He pulled out a phone and pressed a few buttons, "Sam, we are ready. Are you ready to leave?" She must have answered in the affirmative, because T turned the key and started down the road, Sam's van following behind him.

Line Break

**Washington DC PD**

"Lieutenant! We've got reports coming in of Elizabeth Keen being spotted in all over the place in east DC!" The man nodded, "Send squads to check them out, she's a fed, so we have to do this completely by the book, one false move and we've lost her, understood?" The officer nodded. The man sat back and sighed, of course she would show up the minute the feds pulled out. Speaking of them, he decided that as much as it pained him to admit it, they had more resources at their disposal, he picked up the phone and called the local field office to let them know their girl had been spotted.

Line Break

**FBI Field Office, Washington DC**

The phone rang for only a few moments before the agent manning the desk picked it up, "FBI Field Office, this is Agent Bryan." "Agent Bryan, this is Lieutenant Ellis Cox with DC PD, I just wanted to let you know we've just gotten reported sightings of your girl Keen all over the east side. Figured I should let you know as a courtesy and so you can let whatever team you've got looking for her know about it." "Thank you for letting us know, Lieutenant, we'll pass it along. Have a good day." "You to, Agent Bryan."

Replacing the phone in its cradle, he went to tell his superior, who could then tell his superior, and so on until it reached someone in the chain of command who knew who was working on the Elizabeth Keen case.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office, 30 Minutes Later**

Ressler had just come back from his walk when the phone in his office rang. "Ressler." On the other end, he heard the director's voice, "Ressler, we've got sightings of Keen, she's on the east side of DC, thought you might want to get your team out there to help the police get her." Before he could reply, the phone went dead. Swearing, he walked downstairs to the main area. When Aram caught sight of him, he hurried over, "We got her! She's popping up all over social media!" Ressler just nodded, "Let me guess, east side, right?" Aram deflated a bit, "Yes, how did you know that?" Ressler gestured to his office, "Director just called me, told me about it." Aram nodded, "Well, here are the photos." Pulling up a range of photos, each had Elizabeth in them, the first thought that ran through Ressler's head was, 'Huh, she dyed her hair.' Then he looked closer, "Wait, I know that Deli, and that gym. Those are at least a ten-minute jog apart, when are those photos time stamped in relation to each other?" Aram looked, "Five minutes." Ressler shook his head, "That can't be possible, she would have to be flat out running to even try to make that time, and she certainly doesn't look like it in either picture. Aram, check the timestamps of other pictures against the places in the backgrounds, see what comes up." Aram nodded and began furiously typing.

Ressler paced, something wasn't right about this, he had a feeling that they were being fed a line, and Ressler wasn't about to take it. The problem was, the Director of the FBI told him about this, and though he couldn't be sure about anyone aside from those he trusted implicitly, of which, now all were in this building, he didn't think the woman was in the cabal. So he was still agonizing over what to do when Aram interrupted his thoughts, "I've found a bunch of discrepancies like the one you pointed out, Agent Ressler, she's either in such good shape that she doesn't show any exertion after running for almost 15 minutes straight, or some or all of these photos are doctored." Ressler's head shot up, "Reddington," he growled, "He's leading us on a wild goose chase! She's nowhere near there. Aram, call the police and tell them to look everywhere else, this is a setup, making us look one way, while they're going a different way entirely." Aram looked conflicted, "But what if that's what they're counting on, you reacting like this? We both know Reddington is careful, he would know stuff like the distance between places. What if they _are_ going east and counting on you to do exactly what your doing." That stopped Ressler cold, with a man as wily as Reddington, everything was a possibility. He nodded, "Call the police and tell them to make a perimeter checkpoint at every exit around the city. We have to hope that we catch them before they make it to which ever airfield Reddington has his jet stashed at. We'll supply agents if they don't have enough men to do it themselves. Make sure to tell them that Reddington and Keen, along with anyone they're with, should be considered armed and dangerous. Navabi and I'll be roving on standby, tell them to radio me if they see anything suspicious" Aram nodded, and picked up the phone.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC, 5 Minutes later**

"Mr. Reddington, we have a problem," Reddington looked up and frowned, "Calmly get into the first turn lane you can, we'll have to stay in the city a bit longer than expected. Let Sam know to do the same thing." T nodded and picked up his phone. When he was done, he looked over, "Sam can't get into a turn lane, she's blocked in, and I'm afraid to say we are as well." Reddington nodded, "We must proceed, then, and hope that we are not discovered." T nodded.

Line Break

"Elizabeth, there's a police checkpoint up ahead, we can either keep going, or I can try to go back into the city. Elizabeth panicked, clearly their ruse with the Trollfarmer had been discovered, most likely by Ressler, he would be thoroughly checking cars, "Go back into the city, please. I'll probably be discovered if we keep going." Sam started to forcefully make her way into the outer lanes, horns blaring all around her.

Line Break

"Mr. Reddington, Sam has forced her way into the outer lanes, should I attempt to follow her?" Reddington looked back, "No, we don't want to make anymore of a scene than she already has, with any luck, they'll think she merely didn't want to wait for this, and is making her way to an alternate exit."

Line Break

_Sir, there is a delivery van that violently left the road going to the Williamson Bridge, its now heading south on 9__th__._ Ressler nodded, "I'm on my way." He drove off. Looking down, he saw a text from Aram. "Navabi, see what that is." She picked it up, "It's a picture of the van," Looking quickly over, Ressler nodded and kept driving. It was only ten minutes later that they caught up with the van.

Line Break

Elizabeth sobbed slightly when she heard the wail of sirens behind her. "Calm down, girl, it'll be okay. Just a routine stop, nothing to worry about." Elizabeth nodded, though she knew Sam couldn't see her, the words did help calm her down a little. She felt the van pull over, then stop. From her hiding spot, she heard Sam begin to speak, "Can I help you sir?" And had to stifle another sob when she heard Ressler's voice answer, "Yes, why did you pull out and leave the checkpoint line?" She panicked, but Sam was calm and collected, "Well, I'm picking up a delivery, and it's on a time crunch, so I figured I'd go another way and miss all the traffic." Elizabeth could almost see Ressler doing his 'Agent nod' "That so? Mind if we take a look in the back?" "Not at all, sir." Elizabeth heard footsteps coming closer, then the door was pulled back. "What's all this?" Sam was quick, Elizabeth had to admit, "That's a flower preparation table, you know, pruning stems, making boutiques, things like that. Sometimes deliveries are so time sensitive that I have to do those things on site. I really don't mean to be rude, sir, but I really do have to make this pick up." She heard Ressler's voice, terrifyingly close to her hiding space, and tried to be as still as possible. She must have shifted slightly, because she suddenly heard Ressler's voice, "What was that?" "What was what, sir? I didn't hear anything." Ressler wasn't convinced, "You store anything under this worktable of yours?" "No, sir. There's nothing but solid wood there." She heard something knocking on the side of her crawl space. "This is hollow!"

Unable to take it anymore, she yelled at Sam, "Step on it!" and was thrown against the back as Sam slammed down the gas pedal. "Where to?" Sam yelled, "The Russian Embassy!" Elizabeth yelled back.

Line Break

"Shit!" Ressler swore, as the van shot off, nearly taking his hand with it. Running to the car, he and Samar jumped in and followed the van. "Where the hell is she going?" Samar said in angry frustration. Following the van, Ressler suddenly got a sinking feeling, "No, she wouldn't." "Ressler?" Samar looked at him, gestured to the building up ahead, and Samar gasped. Ressler started to mutter, "Don't do this, Keen, its not going to work." He slammed on the brakes as the van ahead of them stopped, and Elizabeth sprinted out the open door. Getting out and running towards her, he yelled out, "Keen!" She didn't stop or even hesitate, just started climbing the fence. The Russian soldiers on the grounds started yelling at her, raising their guns, but nobody fired. He yelled again, "Keen! Don't do this!" She had reached the top now, and jumped down, where she was slammed against the gate by the Russian soldiers. Ressler could swear that he saw apology in her eyes as she opened her mouth,

"My name is Masha Rostova, and I'm seeking asylum."

**AN: Finally! This is where we were supposed to be at the end of last chapter, but we all know how that turned out. Luckily, my muse was actually cooperating with me today. Okay, time to address a few things. First, the time stamps and such. I know I'm not really completely consistent with the spelling versus numbers thing, but, eh, whatever. Second, the head of the FBI. I'm pretty sure I made her a woman, but can't be arsed to go back and check, so she's a woman now if she wasn't before. Third, Elizabeth not saying she's an FSB agent. I never really liked that premise, so she doesn't do it here. For everything else that is different that any of you don't like, I'll say it again, this is an AU. If you wanted an accurate version of the Russian story line, then go watch the bloody show. **


	8. My Name Is Masha Rostova

**AN: Well, we finally get to the meat of the climax of the first arc. This one should be pretty content heavy, and I get to tie up a lot of things that I've been setting up for the past seven chapters, which is **_**so**_** bloody satisfying. I want to reiterate that I have little to no actual knowledge of how governments work, logistically speaking at least. Let alone how they operate on when they are set on foreign territory, so I'm just going to do what sounds at least somewhat logical, and the rest will be covered by me saying this is an AU, so I can bloody well have the government do what I want it to. Okay, getting off my soapbox now. Enjoy the next part of the story.**

**Russian Embassy, Washington DC**

Elizabeth looked at Ressler, hoping he would understand, _willing_ him to understand, that she had no other options left to her. Of course, he didn't know about the failsafe her mother had put into place, but even still, she knew the entire US government thought she was a terrorist from Russia thanks to the cabal, so she went to the only place left to her now that Reddington had been cut off from her. She begged him with her eyes to understand why she had done what she had done. He looked pained, but she thought she saw him nod, almost imperceptibly. "Keen, I can't help you now, you know that, right?" She just nodded. That was all they could do before she was pulled away from the fence, and inside the Russian Embassy.

Line Break

Ressler watched as Elizabeth was pulled inside the Russian Embassy. He was worried for his partner, of course, but also wondering how he would break the news that Elizabeth Keen had gone to the Russian Embassy and asked for asylum. Just like that, he supposed, but that didn't make it any easier. He wondered what Reddington would do, now that Elizabeth was no longer headed to his jet. Reddington! The thought made him remember the van's driver, he sprinted over and was unsurprised to find she was gone. He cursed, and Samar came over, "There's nothing we can do now, Ressler, except go back and start an extradition request." He shook his head, "You go, I'm going to stay here and see if I can't help Keen, I just know the cabal is going to try something." Samar sighed, "Ressler, there's nothing you can do now, Keen's made her bed, now she has to lie in it." Ressler glared at her, "I said I'm staying, Agent Navabi, now you can either go or stay, but don't presume to order me around, is that understood?" She glared at him, "Yes, sir." Whirling around, she stalked off. Ressler had just found a comfortable enough spot to wait, when he saw most of the Spetsnaz rush inside. Ressler got up and wandered closer, wondering what was happening.

Line Break

**Somewhere Outside Washington DC**

Reddington was starting to get really worried by the time T picked up his phone, "Sam, what has happened, are you and the package safe?" T listened for a moment, before he said, "Meet us at the airfield, we will discuss what to do there." Reddington looked at him, "What's happened, are Sam and Lizzy safe?" T shook his head, "Sam had to abandon the van, she is now on foot, Elizabeth is now inside the Russian Embassy, Sam stayed around long enough to make sure she got inside safely. Before she had to leave to avoid capture." Reddington voice was grave, "I see. Very well, take us to the airfield." T nodded, and they drove off.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC**

The man nodded and closed his phone, "_Be ready, the girl has entered the embassy. Soon, my brothers, we will fulfil the purpose laid out for us long ago._"

The men around him cheered, and toasted him.

Line Break

Elizabeth was led inside the embassy, and into a small room containing a desk with a computer on it, two chairs, and a small table. The Spetsnaz officer that had brought her there told her to wait.

It was not long after that a man entered, "Good afternoon, Ms. Rostova, I must say, you have caused quite the stir." She smiled weakly at him, "I'm sorry, I just didn't know where else to go. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, Mr. …" The man sat down and looked at her, "Oh, my apologies, my name is Demetri Ivanov, I'm one of the chief diplomats stationed at the embassy. And you haven't caused me any undue trouble, Ms. Rostova, I was having quite the boring day until you showed up. Paperwork, truly the most horrific evil mankind has ever made, though I'm sure you're aware of that?" Elizabeth paled, "I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Ivanov." He laughed, "Come now, Ms. Rostova, I am neither stupid nor am I blind, I am well aware of who you are, though I must ask, which is your true name? Elizabeth Keen, or Masha Rostova?" Elizabeth stopped; she somehow knew that the question entailed more than it would seem at first. "Could I have a moment to collect my thoughts on the matter, Mr. Ivanov, I feel the question you asked means much more than what the wording would at first imply." He smiled and nodded, "Indeed it does, indeed it does. Please take your time, this is not something to take lightly, after all."

Elizabeth thought hard about it, but in the end, she realized she had already started down this road when she wrote the message in her blood for Ressler to find, "Elizabet Kin mertva," she whispered.

"My name is Masha Rostova," She said. "I am the daughter of Katarina Rostova, and I was born in Moscow."

The man smiled, "Then welcome, Masha, to the Russian Embassy. Can I get you something to eat for lunch? It is well past that time, and I myself was just about to sit down to mine when you showed up." Masha was hesitant, "I'm really not all that hungry, but please don't feel like you have to wait to eat on my behalf." He looked at her, "If you're sure?" She nodded, "Then I will be right back."

It was only a couple minutes that he returned, carrying two plates. "I hope I wasn't too presumptuous, but I went ahead and got you a plate anyway. You don't have to eat if you don't want to, but I wanted you to have the option, Ms. Rostova." She nodded and he set the plate on the desk in front of her. "Mr. Ivanov, I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch once again, but I just remembered something my mother told me before she left," He raised an eyebrow and Masha continued, "She told me I was to ask for a man named Sergei Petrov on operation Red Hammer?" He hummed, and began typing on his computer, "I have not heard of either the man or the operation, but let me look them up." No sooner had he said that than his computer started beeping and he looked up at her, panic in his eyes, "Ms. Rostova, what is this?" Masha was bewildered, "I have no idea, Mr. Ivanov."

Line Break

**Moscow, Russia, Ministry of Defense Building**

There was a room within the Ministry of Defense that only two men ever went into. Inside this room was a desk, a chair, a telephone, an alarm and a binder. The binder was only to be opened if the alarm went off. For thirty years they had traded twelve hour shifts with each other. For thirty years nothing had happened. That changed today. The man on the night shift had been there for three hours when the alarm began to blare. In a frenzy, he flipped open the binder and reader the instructions contained within. Picking up the phone, he dialed the number in the binder.

The other end picked up on the fourth ring, he nodded. "_Identification._" The voice on the other end demanded, reading further down, he spoke, "_Mother, 5-1-5-0-1-9_." The voice was silent, then, "_Confirmation: 8-4-7-2-8-1-A_." The man swallowed, "_Confirmed. Mission Status._" The response was immediate this time, "_Ready._" The man read the final line once more, "_Operation Red Hammer is a go._" The man was silent for a moment, "_Understood._" The line went dead.

The man turned the page and read the final instructions. Opening the desk, he pulled out the items inside. "_For the motherland_." He whispered

Line Break

**Russian Embassy, Washington DC**

The Spetsnaz commander activated the commlink, "_Yes, who is this?_" the voice on the other end replied, "_Mother, 5-1-5-0-1-9_." The commander unconsciously straightened, "_Identification confirmed, orders?_" "_You recently secured a girl claiming to be Masha Rostova?_" The commanded nodded, "_Affirmative._" The man's voice was clear, "_Secure the room she is in, no one in or out, protect her at all costs, wait for me and my team to get there, same identification code._" "_Understood._" The link went dead, and the commander turned to his men, "_Secure the girl. No one in or out of the room she is in, protect her at all costs!_" The men nodded and rushed into the building.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Washington DC**

The man turned to his men, "_Move out, head for the embassy. We are securing the girl and taking her home._" The men cheered once more and started to prepare for the extraction.

Line Break

**Russian Embassy, Washington DC**

Masha was about to get up when the door burst open. Spetsnaz officers flooded the room. One came up to her, "Ms. Rostova, are you alright?" It was all Masha could to nod mutely.

Ivanov was incensed, however. "_Commander, what is the meaning of this?_" The man looked at him and shrugged, "_Orders, sir._" He spluttered, "_Whose orders? Certainly not mine!_" The man chuckled, "_Certainly not yours, sir, but all the same, we have our orders._" Ivanov wasn't for backing down, "_On whose authority?_" The commander looked at him, "_One that far exceeds your own, sir, so if you could just stay here until he arrives, we can avoid any unpleasantness._" Ivanov looked more put out than anything at that statement.

Masha was confused, and a bit worried as the two men conversed in Russian. When it seemed like their conversation was over, she looked to the commander, "Um, excuse me, but what's going on? I don't understand Russian." The man looked at her, "We have been ordered to protect you until such time as a new order with the correct authority is given." Masha blinked, whatever she had been expecting, that certainly wasn't it. "Oh, right. Okay then." She said.

Time Skip: 20 Minutes

Ressler was worried, twenty minutes earlier, most of the Spetsnaz officers had run int the building minutes after Keen herself had been led in, and they hadn't come back out. Just then, two black Humvees pulled up to the gate, and after exchanging a few words with the driver of the lead car, the guard at the gate let them in. Ressler watched as heavily armed man after heavily armed man got out and moved into the building. He just knew this had something to do with Keen, and the Spetsnaz officers running inside twenty minutes earlier.

A few minutes, the men came back out, plus one. Though she was now wearing a tactical vest, and had a helmet on, it was still very clearly Elizabeth Keen. Ressler had to talk to her, make sure everything was okay. He moved toward the gate.

Line Break

**Somewhere Outside Washington DC, 10 Minutes Earlier**

Reddington, T and Jack were stood by a jet, waiting, when Sam walked up. Reddington spoke first. "What happened?" Sam looked at him, unwavering.

"She panicked when I told her about the checkpoint and asked me to find a different way outside the city, so I made my way out of the line and moved towards the secondary route. Ten minutes later I was pulled over by a blond man, who asked about my leaving the line. I told him the prearranged story and he said he wanted to check the back of the van. When he investigated the workbench, she panicked again and told me to drive off, which I did. She told me to go to the Russian Embassy, and when we got there, she ran out and climbed over the fence. I stayed long enough to make sure she got in safely, then made my way on foot here."

Reddington nodded. "Then it is most likely that at this point a chain of events has now been put in play that can't be stopped. At this point, the best thing for us is to be off as planned, and Lizzy will contact me when she is able to."

Before any of them could reply, he turned and boarded the plane.

Jack looked at the others, they shrugged at him, and they walked onto the plane after him.

Line Break

**Russian Embassy, Washington DC, 10 Minutes Later**

Masha was getting a bit anxious, and bored. Sure, at first it had been slightly overwhelming, but since all the Spetsnaz officers did was keep her and Mr. Ivanov isolated, it got very dull very quickly. She tried making small talk with the officers, but it died quickly. She soon resigned herself to waiting. Close to twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The commander went over and spoke in a Russian for a minute, before opening the door, and ushering his men out, only for them to be replaced by heavily armed men. The leader looked at her, "Ms. Rostova, I am Sergei Petrov. We are here to take you home."

She looked at him, then simply nodded. He nodded back, then motioned one of his men forward, "Ms. Rostova, please put these on," She was handed a tactical vest and helmet. After putting them on, she got up, and followed the men outside, where two black, armoured Humvees were waiting. She got into the lead one with Sergei and about half of his men. As they drove slowly towards the gate, she saw a man approaching them. As he got closer, she recognized him as Ressler. She didn't know what he thought he was doing, but she didn't want to see him hurt.

Line Break

As Ressler came up to the first car, he put his hand up, and flashed his badge. The driver's side window rolled down, and a man looked at him, "Yes?" Ressler looked back without betraying what he was thinking, "I need to talk with Elizabeth Keen." The men looked at each other, "There is no Elizabeth Keen here, if that is all?"

Ressler shook his head, "She's right there, what do you mean there is no Elizabeth Keen?" She looked at him, her soulful eyes begging his forgiveness, "Donald, I told you before, 'Elizabet Kin mertva.' She died the day I shot Tom Connolly. My name is Masha Rostova."

Ressler couldn't believe what he was hearing, "You can't be serious! Your name is Elizabeth Keen, where are these people taking you?" She shook her head, "No, my name is Masha Rostova, and these men are taking me home." Ressler was starting to think this was a bad dream, "Elizabeth, Masha, whatever the _hell_ you're calling yourself, this _is_ your home. Its where you grew up, where you work, where you live."

She looked sadly at him, "No, this is where _Elizabeth Keen_ grew up, where she worked, where she lived. Masha Rostova was born in Moscow, and that's where I'm going."

Ressler shook his head, "So that's it, then? You're just going to move to Moscow, forget about Reddington, about the taskforce, about the cabal and, what? Live out your days in some kind of Russian witsec programme?" She kept looking at him, her eyes begging him to understand, "There's nothing left for me here anymore, Ressler. Do you want me to stay here, waiting for either you or the cabal to hunt me down like an animal and kill me? I don't know what's waiting for me in Russia, but whatever it is, it'll be better for me than whatever is left for me here."

Ressler looked hard at her, "And how do you know that?" She smiled, a small, watery smile, "My mother. She set all this up for me. Hired Sergei and his men, had them on standby for the past thirty years, just waiting for me to call in the cavalry, as it were. If she did all that, I have to believe that she set something up for me in Moscow as well."

As if speaking his name had broken a spell, the man in the driver's seat looked back at Elizabeth, "Ms. Rostova, we really should be going. It is not safe for you here."

Ressler looked at him, "What do you mean its not safe for her here?" The man looked steadily back at him, "Until she is on the plane back to Moscow, she is vulnerable." As if to prove his point, there was a sudden, sharp crack and a spiderweb of cracks appeared on the window next to Elizabeth. She shrieked and the window shot back up.

Line Break

When the bullet slammed into her window, Masha shrieked. Suddenly things were happening very fast. Sergei rolled the windows back up, and the Humvees shuddered as the engines revved into action. She shouted to no one in particular, "Save Ressler!" Sergei barked something in Russian into his comms, and a few seconds, nodded to her, "He is safe," she sighed in relief.

Line Break

Before Ressler fully registered what had happened, his instincts kicked in, pulling his gun, he was scanning the rooftops and windows in the direction the shot came from. He registered the Humvees moving, but didn't hear the door open next to him until a muscular and tattooed arm grabbed him and hauled him inside. The door slammed shut and the vehicle lurched into motion, following the lead car.

Ressler looked around, "What was that for? Not that I'm not grateful, but why'd you do that?" The one driving looked into the rearview, "Ms. Rostova asked us to." Ressler paused, letting the new information sink in, even after hunting her down, she was still looking out for him.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a voice shout, "Contact!"

**AN: Yep, gonna end it there. Two reasons, I have to proof read it, and its bloody late, and I'm just straight knackered. I jumped into writing this right after writing chapter 7. Here's a tip, if its 9 at night, don't attempt to write a 3k word chapter unless you know **_**exactly**_** what you are going to write. Its just bloody painful by the end otherwise. Anyway, gonna proofread this and then get my ass to sleep. Also, I know that Spetsnaz wouldn't normally be guarding the embassy, but I feel that with the heightened tensions between Russia and the US due to the actions of the cabal, the Russian government would feel that it was worth it.**


	9. You'll Probably Have A Nice Scar

**AN: Okay, got myself some sleep. Sleep is very good. I don't know if starting a chapter at 7:30 is much better than at nine, but, hey, I thought about not doing one at all today, so guess better late than never. If I can keep up the pace I've been writing these at, around ten a week, I'll be done with this a lot sooner than I ever thought I would be. I realized, yesterday I think, that these Authors Notes will be very strange, as I'm writing them weeks, or even months before the chapter will be posted, but I guess they give a glimpse into my thoughts (and mental state, but we'll just ignore that part) at the time. So, they're… interesting, I guess? Anyway, enough blathering, onto the story.**

**Outside the Russian Embassy**

Masha was having trouble comprehending the events going on around her, things were simply moving too fast. So, it took her longer than it usually would to understand what has happing when she heard Sergei yell, "Contact!" Looking up and out the windshield, she saw a man standing in the road a hundred meters or so away, with some kind of weapon leveled at them. It wasn't until he fired and she saw the rocket coming towards them, did it dawn on her what was happening, but the man riding shotgun beat her to it, "Shit! RPG!" Sergei looked at her, "Hold on, Ms. Rostova!" She tried to secure herself as best as possible as Sergei tried to swerve out of the way of the oncoming projectile.

It almost worked, the rocket clipped the side of their Humvee and exploded, sending the vehicle flying. The last thing Masha saw was the ground rushing to meet her, then the world went dark.

Line Break

Ressler wasn't sure exactly what was happening, he'd just heard someone from the front Humvee shout, "Contact," but couldn't see anyone. The next thing he heard stopped him cold, "Shit! RPG!" as he watched the front vehicle try to avoid it, and theirs follow suit, the only thing he could think was, 'Of course they have an RPG.' Then the Humvee in front of them exploded.

"No!" He yelled, watching in slow motion as the Humvee flipped in the air, before smashing into the ground. He watched as it slid on the road for a couple meters before stopping. He let out a breath as he saw a door open, and a man start to get out, only for his head to explode.

The man driving their Humvee started barking orders in Russian, then turned to Ressler, "My men are going to be covering you and the others in the downed vehicle. You are not as well equipped or trained as us. Your job is to get Ms. Rostova out of the vehicle and back here, keeping her safe at all costs, is this understood?" Ressler nodded, and took a breath, preparing to run into no man's land.

The men opened the doors, and one instantly shot into a building, shouting something that sounded like it had to do with snipers. Ressler heard the quick snap of automatic fire, and then bullets pinging off surfaces around them. The men with him started to fire, allowing the men in the other Humvee the chance to get out, which they did, taking up cover and starting to return fire themselves.

One of the men looked at him, "Go, now! We'll cover you!"

Ressler nodded, and took one last deep breath, before letting it out and beginning the terrifying 25-meter run. He did his best not to think about the fact that at any moment he was likely to feel a bullet slam into him, that at any moment any half decent marksman would have a prime shot at him. He tried not to think that at any moment the world could go black, and that would be it. Instead, he tried not to think at all, focusing on the Humvee in front of him. He felt the world slow, he heard each breath as it passed his lips, felt every labored beat of his heart as he pushed it as far as it would go, barely registered the pavement exploding around him with the impacts of bullets. He felt something slam into his shoulder, forcing it back, but ignored it, focused only on getting to the vehicle in front of him.

Before he knew it, he was at the downed Humvee. Almost everyone had gotten out by now, except for the man who had gotten shot by the sniper. Ducking behind the fallen vehicle, he waited for the man next to him to stop shooting and come back behind cover before getting his attention, "Where's Keen?" He shouted. The man pointed in the Humvee, "Still inside, think she's unconscious!" The man shouted back, before exiting cover to shoot back once again.

Hoping against hope, Ressler tried the rear door, but it wouldn't move. Cursing his luck, he waited for the man to duck back before yelling, "Cover me, I'm going to get her!" He nodded, and shouted something in Russian.

Getting a nod, Ressler sprinted to the open door and hauled himself in, ignoring the bullets pinging off the other side of the door. He saw Keen hanging limply from her seatbelt, and a red puddle forming under her head. Ressler attempted to release the seatbelt, but it wouldn't budge. Cursing, he hauled himself back up to the door, making sure to keep his head behind it, he yelled out, "I need a knife!" Suddenly, a hand was there, offering him the handle. He grabbed it and made his way back to crouching in front of Keen. Cutting her loose, he caught her before she could fall to the ground.

He checked her pulse, it was sluggish, but there. He then patted her cheek, "Keen! Keen! Wake up, Keen!" She groaned, and Ressler felt a surge of relief flow through him. Her eyelids fluttered open, weakly she moaned, "Head hurts." Ressler couldn't help himself, he laughed. She did her best to glare at him, "S'not funny." He put on a straight face, "Of course it's not, Keen, I'm sorry." She weakly shook her head, "No, you're not." He smiled at her, "Fine, I'm not. Now, can you walk?" She shook her head again, "No, sleepy. Carry me." Ressler looked at her, surprised, but she had already closed her eyes again. Worried, he shook her, "Keen? Keen, get up, we have to go," He got no response, but her breathing, while shallow, was constant. Sighing, he stood up, and called out, "She's not conscious, someone help me get her out," Seeing a hand pop up, he hoisted her up and out, trusting they would get her safely behind cover. Getting himself out, he quickly made his way to cover behind the vehicle. Seeing Elizabeth's body leaning against the back of the Humvee, he nodded. Pausing only to wait for the nearest man to stop firing, he yelled out, "I'll carry her back, cover us!" The man nodded, and shouted something in Russian. Picking up Elizabeth, he waited until the men were arrayed around him, and together they made the deadly trek through no man's land. Unlike before when there were only intermittent bursts of fire from their side, now the chatter of machine gun fire was almost constant as they did their best to make sure they weren't giving the enemy a chance to take shots at them.

Ressler didn't look back, he was focused on making his way back to the Humvee. Eventually, they made it, and Ressler got Elizabeth safely inside the armoured vehicle. Chancing a look back, he saw a couple bodies lying still in the middle of the road, but the majority of the men had made it. He made to leave, but Elizabeth grabbed him in a sleepy, but surprisingly strong embrace, "No, don't go. Stay." Seeing the men starting to pile in, he tried to make them as small as possible to make room for the extra men. Even squeezing, it was a very tight fit with all the gear they were wearing, and in the end, two men couldn't fit. They just popped the trunk, and sat in the back, guns at the ready.

The vehicle lurched into movement, avoiding the debris strewn around, and started down the road. From the open back, Ressler could hear the distant wail of police sirens. He hoped for their sakes that the Russians had killed all the cabal's fighters, or that any left alive had no interest in trading fire with the police. Suddenly, the world started to fade, and Ressler had time to look down at his suddenly throbbing shoulder and say, "Well, shit." Before slumping unconscious.

Line Break

**Unknown Location**

Ressler groaned as he clawed his way back to consciousness. At first, the different stimuli his brain was registering didn't make sense, but then his head cleared a bit and he realized he was on a plane. Putting aside the 'why' for now, he cracked open his eyes. He looked around, "Where am I?" He heard someone say something in Russian, then there was raucous laughter. He saw one of the men stand up and speak in a heavy accent, "You are on plane. You were shot, fainted from blood loss." Ressler look down and saw he was shirtless, his clothes lying in a bloody pile, and his shoulder tightly bandaged. "How long have I been out?" He asked, "Two hours, maybe little longer. We still have long flight to go." Ressler nodded, then shot up, ignoring the flash of pain and the sudden throbbing in his shoulder, "Keen? Where is she, _how_ is she, she had a head wound…" He was cut off by the loud laughter again, the man Ressler had talked to before everything went to hell spoke, "Ms. Rostova is fine, Agent Ressler, she's concussed, and had a pretty long gash in her head, but that was about it, Alexi here fixed her up, and she's sleeping now. However, she's sure to wake up with a very bad headache."

Ressler looked to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was Keen, lying across three seats, her head covered in bandages, sleeping peacefully.

He looked back at the man, "Where are we going?" "Moscow, of course. Ms. Rostova will be warmly welcomed by those of us who remember the glory days of the Republic, her mother was a legend. She will be safe there."

That reminded Ressler, "Those men, do you know who they were?" The man shook his head, "I do not, I only knew we are to protect Masha Rostova. And for that, we had to be prepared for anything. We are the best of the best, skilled in just about any field, and that includes knowledge of different factions that we may come up against in completing our task, but I didn't recognize those men wearing any affiliation that I am aware of. Do you know who these men were?"

Ressler nodded, "I think I have a pretty good idea… uh, I actually don't know your name." The man looked surprised, "Ah, of course, my name is Sergei Petrov." Ressler nodded again, "Right, well, as I was saying, I have a pretty good idea, tell me, Mr. Petrov," He interrupted, "Sergei, please, Mr. Petrov makes me think my father is lurking around somewhere." Ressler nodded, "Sergei, then. Do you know of a group called the cabal?" Sergei shook his head, "I am unfamiliar with any group called that, that have access to military hardware like that."

Ressler nodded, "I would have been surprised if you had. Its not much, but I'll tell you what I know."

And for the next couple hours Ressler told the man everything he knew, not just about the cabal, but about Reddington, how he was against the cabal, the blacklist, everything. He knew he was breaking an untold number of laws by doing so, but he knew Elizabeth would have done it anyway. Besides, he had a pretty strong suspicion that the cabal would be branding him as a traitor as well, now that he helped Elizabeth get out of the country. One thing he did notice when talking to Sergei, was a minute, almost imperceptible reaction when he was talking about Reddington. Filing it away for later, the two men kept talking until Elizabeth started to wake up.

Line Break

Masha blinked her eyes open. Without moving her head, she let her eyes flit about, taking in information about where she was. She saw the men who had taken her from the embassy spread out, some talking, some sleeping, but it was a shirtless, bandaged Ressler talking with the man she recognized as Sergei Petrov that really caught her interest. Mindful of the pounding in her head, she weakly called out, "Ressler…" He whipped his head around so fat she was sure he was going to hurt himself. "Keen!" He called out, she winced, and he hurried over, concerned, "What's wrong, Keen?" She weakly shook her head, "Too loud … head hurts." He immediately quieted down, "I'm sorry, Keen, how's your head feeling?" She glared weakly at him, "Hurts. Headache." He nodded, "I guessed that much, I meant the nice gash you've got." Her eyes widened, "Huh? What gash?" Trying to check her head, he quickly grabbed her arms, "No, don't mess with it, Keen, one of Sergei's men fixed it up for you. Says you'll probably have a nice scar, and a new hair style for a while, but otherwise, it's all good."

She looked at him, "What happened, the last thing I remember was talking to you, then… nothing." Ressler nodded, "Sergei's man did say you had a pretty nasty concussion, so not remembering is natural. We were…" "Wait, why are you here, Ressler, I would have thought you'd be back at The Post Office by now?" She interrupted. He rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I wasn't exactly given a choice in the matter." She gasped, "What! They kidnapped you?" He quickly shook his head, then had a thought, "Well, technically speaking, _you_ kidnapped me." She looked him, "I feel like I would have remembered kidnapping you, Ressler, you wouldn't make it easy." He smirked, "Well, you didn't do it directly, but you had some of your mother's goons over there do it."

She slapped his chest, "Stop playing around, Ressler! Seriously, why are you here? You know what the cabal will make of it. They'll brand you a traitor, you'll be hunted down, just like me." He laughed a little, "Keen, I was telling the truth, you did have those guys grab me. What I didn't mention was that someone had just shot at you." She gasped, and he spent the next little while filling her in on what she didn't remember. He did decide to leave out the things she had said while she was delirious, deciding it'd make great teasing material later.

Line Break

Sergei looked over at the two people conversing in English. He smiled. One of his men came over, "_Permission to start a betting pool, sir._" He looked at him, "_What's the bet?_" the man smirked, and gestured to the two people, "_How long it takes them to get together._" Sergei laughed, "_Granted._" The man started to walk away, but Sergei stopped him, "_Put me down for 10000 rubles and six months._" The man laughed, "_That's a long time, sir. Sure you don't want to reconsider?_" He just shook his head, "_I'm fine with my bet, are you sure you men are okay with loosing so much money?_" The man laughed and walked away.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office, 2 Hours 37 Minutes Earlier**

Samar Navabi stalked into the building. Glaring at anyone who got in her path, she made her way over to Aram, who was typing away on his computer. When she was standing next to him, she said, "Aram, pull up camera feeds from around the Russian Embassy." Aram started, then looked at her confused, "Um, why are we looking at the Russian Embassy?" She ground her teeth, "Because, Aram, Ressler is being a stubborn ass." Aram looked even more confused at this, but pulled up the camera feeds. They watched as two black armoured Humvees entered the embassy, and a few minutes later, they saw the men who had exited the vehicles come back outside, plus one, who was much smaller than the rest. "That must be Keen," Samar muttered, Aram looked at her, "_That's _Agent Keen? Why was she in the Russian Embassy?" Samar waved away his question, watching as Ressler approached the vehicles and stopped them. When he started talking, Samar looked at Aram, "I don't suppose we can get audio?" Aram shook his head, "No, these are traffic cameras, they don't have microphones. And trying to find a different view to read his lips would be useless as the Humvee would block the camera's view." Suddenly, cracks appeared in the rear window of the first vehicle, and they started to move out. The door opened on the second one and Ressler was yanked in. "What the hell?" Samar muttered. Aram followed the Humvees until one suddenly swerved then exploded. They watched as men got out and started shooting, then saw Ressler run towards the downed Humvee. He disappeared into the vehicle and a minute or so later they saw Keen's body emerge. They watched the men group up, and make their way back to the functional Humvee, losing two of their number as they went, before they all got into it, and it sped off. Aram followed it until it left the city, and he couldn't find any more cameras.

Samar didn't know what to think. At first, it had seemed like Ressler had been kidnapped, but he had seemed very willing to help get Keen. "Aram, find out where they went. Check with the FAA, see if anyone has left filing flight plans for Russia or the surrounding areas. I want them found. They are guilty of harboring a terrorist and kidnapping a federal agent." Aram looked conflicted, "Now, Aram!" He nodded and picked up the phone.

**AN: Alright, and that's chapter nine! I want to address something that I caught. I noticed that if I have English speaking characters with Sergei's men, I'm more likely to make them speak in English, even though they have no logical reason to. I know I do it and I'm just going to play the 'It's for plot reasons' card, and leave it at that. Now that that's cleared up, we should only have a chapter or two until the next arc begins, and though I know vaguely what I want to be the overarching premise, as with when I started this arc, I've no idea what I'm going to do for the smaller plot points. **

**Okay, so I stopped there, and took a couple days break, just so I don't burn out on this story, as I really want to complete it. I think I proofread it when I stopped, but I'm not sure, so if there are more mistakes than normal, my bad, but I'm just going to go into writing chapter 10.**


	10. I Love America

**Right, once again, I have changed music, so if for some reason this one seems more… religious… blame Pentatonix for singing Hallelujah so well. Anyway, as I said in the AN last chapter, I've actually been away from writing for a couple days. So, while I'm fresh and much less likely to burn out, I have lost the tempo I had gained over the last week pumping out chapters. So, if things don't seem as… flowing, I guess, as the last few chapters, that's why. I'm going to go read the last few parts of chapter 9 to see where I was headed, and jump to writing, so enjoy.**

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office, 5 Minutes Later**

Samar Navabi was not a happy camper, or federal agent, as the case may be. So far, Aram had not been able to find any kind of flight plan that indicated it was heading to Russia. Of course, she knew that flight plans could be falsified, or even overlooked completely if enough money or influence was thrown at the problem, the thing was, while the men who took Keen and Ressler were certainly well equipped and trained, that didn't necessarily mean they had money, there could just as easily be a rich benefactor in the wings supplying them.

Aram's voice broke through her musings, "Agent Navabi, I may have something." She looked at him, and when he didn't immediately speak, she raised an eyebrow at him. He coughed and nodded, "Well, at first I checked passenger manifests from commercial flights to Russia, but there were no last minute additions large enough on any plane to be their group, and that's discounting the fact that they had enough weaponry and tactical gear to give every TSA agent in both countries a heart attack. There were enough last minute additions to the manifests that they could have split up, but I again discounted that on account of the gear they had," Samar shook her head, "We can't discount anything, no matter how unlikely it is. Get in touch with our Moscow office, have them coordinate with local authorities to check the incoming commercial flights for our group of mercenaries, or whoever they are." Aram nodded, then continued, "Well, after I checked commercial, I of course went and checked private flights, and there weren't any that were taking off from any reasonably close airfield that had filed a flight plan to Russia or any surrounding countries, at least today, though I did notice that in the last week, there were an oddly high amount of private flights from Russia into DC, but they stopped a few days back." Seeing her open her mouth, Aram rushed to say, "I checked to see if any had departed today, but none had. Then, just to check everything, I checked Russian diplomatic flights, and one did depart today, but it filed a flight plan for France. Nice, to be precise."

Samar nodded, "Put an alert on that diplomatic flight, as well as the private planes that arrived in the last week. If anything happens, I want to be aware of it." Aram nodded, and got to typing.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, 5 Hours Later**

Ressler watched as Sergei got up and walked to the front, over the roar of the engines, he couldn't make out anything, but he figured he was talking to the pilot. Suddenly, the plane banked, and began to head on a new course. He felt a tug on his sleeve, and looked down, "Ressler, what's happening?" He shook his head, "I don't know, but I'll go and find out, okay?" She nodded, and lay her head back down.

Ressler walked up to the cockpit, "What's going on, why are we changing course? I thought we were going on a straight course to Moscow?" Sergei shook his head, "After being ambushed, I told the pilot to file a flight plan to France, in order to throw off the trail, we're far enough that we can now start to head to Moscow. I want everything done by the books, so that we can not be accused of breaking any laws, so I had the pilot file a revised flight plan, with us now going to Moscow."

Ressler raised his eyebrows, "Uh, Sergei, I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure having a shootout in front of the Russian Embassy in Washington DC is breaking at least one law." Sergei just laughed, "Come now, my friend, you are a federal agent! They shot first, we were simply defending ourselves! I love America!" Roaring with laughter, he made his way back to the seating area, and sat down with his men once more.

Walking back over to sit next to Keen, he looked at her, "Nothing to worry about. Apparently, Sergei didn't trust that we wouldn't be followed in some way, so filed a flight plan to France. He says we're far enough along the way now, that we can head to Moscow properly. Everything's fine Keen."

She looked at him, "I've told you, Ressler, Elizabeth Keen is dead. I know it's hard for you to understand, but even if you don't, can't you please call me Masha, or at least Rostova. It's my name now, well, it was my name before Elizabeth Scott ever was. You're my friend Ressler, this name is the only thing protecting me now, if for no other reason than that, please use it."

Ressler was taken aback, "I'm sorry Keen, ugh, Rostova, no that just sounds strange," he sighed, "Masha it is," she smiled at him, "I didn't realize it meant that much to you. I guess since I'm likely no longer a federal agent, or your partner at the FBI, you can call me Donald," She scrunched up her nose, "Sorry, Ressler, but I don't think I'm going to do that. Calling you Donald just feels weird. I could try Donny," it was his turn to wrinkle his nose, she laughed, "Maybe Don. I don't know, calling you anything other than Ressler feels strange. I might be able to call you Don, but certainly not Donald, I think I'll leave that to Reddington," she gasped, "Oh god! Reddington! He must be losing his mind by now!" She tried to get up, but instantly grabbed her head and swayed dangerously. Ressler grabbed her and eased her back down, "Easy there! Where did you think you were going?" She mumbled something that Ressler couldn't pick up, "What was that, Masha?"

"Sergei," she muttered, "Was gonna talk to Sergei about contacting Reddington." Ressler shook his head, "That can wait, Masha, why don't we just wait until everything cools down a bit, before calling in the strangely protective criminal mastermind?" She gave a weak laugh at that, and settled down, asleep in seconds, not noticing the thing she was sleeping on was actually Ressler.

Looking at her, he sighed, and settled himself as comfortably as possible without moving too much to disturb his sleeping friend.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Samar was sat at her desk, getting some paperwork done while waiting for something, anything, to come up and give them a lead. That's when Aram's voice piped up. "Agent Navabi! That diplomatic flight just registered a revised flight plan! They're now headed to Moscow." She all but sprinted the short distance to his desk, "You're sure? I don't want any mistakes here." Aram looked at her, clearly affronted. She nodded, "Get on the phone with our counterparts in Russia. Explain the situation to them and ask them to be standing by to see if our people are on that plane. If so, ask them to grab agents Keen and Ressler and transport them back to the US Embassy, where our people will take care of it from there." Aram nodded and started dialing.

She walked away, back to her desk. While she had done all she could from here, she knew there was no way she would be able to get to Moscow before the other plane did, and so she was stuck waiting for news.

She sighed, the waiting was the most difficult and annoying part.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, 3 Hours Later**

Ressler was jerked awake by the feel of wheels touching down on the runway. Looking down, he saw that Keen _Masha, damnit_ was still sleeping peacefully. Hearing a commotion to his side, he looked over and saw Sergei and his men getting ready, strapping on vests, checking magazines, scopes and comms. In essence, they were preparing for a fight.

Ressler called out to Sergei, "I thought we were going to be safe here?" Sergei just looked at him, "Were you expecting her to safe in the US?" Ressler was silent, then, "Give me a vest and a gun." Sergei looked up, scrutinized him for what felt like forever, before slowly nodding and gesturing to one of his men. The man rooted around in a crate for a moment before coming up with the requested items. Handing them over, the man continued to get ready.

He regretfully woke Masha up, and helped her get into her vest and helmet, making sure she felt as little discomfort as possible. They both missed the glances Sergei and his men were trading, along with the knowing smiles.

When the plane finally taxied to a stop, Sergei had his men move into formation, with Masha in the middle, and Ressler grouped in with the rest of them. Ressler briefly mused that she was like a princess with her loyal bodyguards, before shaking his head and wondering where the thought came from. When the door lowered, the group marched out, Sergei and his men looking for threats, before pulling up short as an unmarked convey approached. Not quite raising their guns, but being fully ready to, they watched as the convey made its way to stop in front of them.

From inside the vehicles came FSB agents. The leader walked out and said, "I am Agent Vladislav with the FSB. I am looking for FBI agents Keen and Ressler."

Before anyone could respond, Ressler heard Masha do so and resisted the urge to groan, she was not exactly known for always being diplomatic. "Elizabeth Keen is dead." The man looked at her, "Oh? And who might you be?" Ressler saw the defiant jut of her chin, and didn't manage to fully stop the groan this time, "I am Masha Rostova, daughter of Katarina Rostova, Ex KGB." The man simply raised an eyebrow, "And who are the men with you, Ms. Rostova?" She sniffed, "My bodyguards. I'm sure you'd know, being FSB and all, but my mother had quite the reputation. Sergei and his men were signed on by her to protect me. Now, if you'll excuse me?" Ressler had to give her credit, aside from sounding slightly too spoiled, she had come up with a pretty good story.

The man ran his eyes over the men, taking in their combat fatigues and gear, Ressler felt his breathing quicken when he realized that, while he did have a vest and gun, he was still wearing his suit underneath it. And it seemed like Agent Vladislav had noticed as well. "Ms. Rostova, one of your 'bodyguards' seems to be very overdressed. Care to explain?" Before Elizabeth could get in trouble with the FSB for lying, he put a hand on her shoulder, looking at the man, he said, "I am Donald Ressler, but I'm afraid I am no longer an FBI agent."

Vladislav nodded, "Interesting, I have been asked by your old agency to take you to the US Embassy and hand you over to the FBI agents there. However, as you claim to no longer be _FBI Agent_ Ressler, I am in quite the intriguing situation, wouldn't you say, Mr. Ressler?" Ressler nodded, warily, "I guess it is an interesting situation, Agent Vladislav, what would you propose we do about it?"

The man put his hand to his chin, then spoke, "Ms. Rostova, you were correct in thinking I had known your mother, I also know the rumors of her having a child. Saying for the moment that I believe you when you say you are indeed that child, where have you been for the last 30 years?"

Masha looked surprised to be addressed again, but quickly answered, "My mother asked an acquaintance of hers to help hide me, he in turn asked a friend of his to watch over me. I lived in the states as Elizabeth Scott until just recently."

Nodding, Vladislav then asked, "And how did you come to be in the company of these men, who you claim to be your bodyguards?" "Recent events caused me to remember something my mother told me before she left, and that led to me meeting them."

"One last question, Ms. Rostova, saying once again that I believe you, and going one step further to say that I would assume that your mother left in place a way for you to easily gain citizenship, would you be willing to sponsor Mr. Ressler here for his own citizenship?" Blinking, Masha looked taken aback for a moment, before shaking her head slightly, "Of course I would!" She sounded indignant.

Vladislav smiled, "Very well then, I guess I have to go and tell the FBI that I did not find either FBI Agent Keen or Ressler in that plane." Tipping his cap, he and the other agents got back into their cars and drove off. Once he had gotten in, he sent a text, _It is done_. His phone instantly buzzed, _My thanks. -R_

Masha looked to Sergei, "How are we getting to where ever were going?" Sergei gestured to two more black, armoured Humvees. Moving her way to the front, Masha led the way to the tickets to her new life. Ressler didn't bother suppressing the groan this time, and rolled his eyes. As he did, he caught the glint of something on the top of a building. Without thinking, he rushed forward. With a yell, he jumped in front of Masha just as the crack of a rifle sounded. White hot pain flashed in his back, and the world began to go black. The last thing he heard was Masha screaming his name.

Line Break

Masha knew she should have allowed Sergei and his men to go first, but the excitement of finally being free, able to live without fear again, made her push her way to the front, eager to get to their transportation. She smiled as she heard Ressler groan behind her, before hearing someone running up behind her. Figuring it was Sergei, or Ressler, coming to reprimand her, she slowed slightly, smiling until Ressler jumped in front of her, yelling, "No!" As he came around and in front of her, she heard the thunder of a rifle being fired, before watching in horror as Ressler was hit. Screaming his name, she caught him as he began to fall, holding onto him even as she was surrounded once more by Sergei and his men, barely registering as they fired at the sniper, not responding as they swept them up and to the Humvees. She just kept replaying that moment in her mind, watching Ressler get shot. Taking a bullet that was meant for her.

It was when she noticed the blood dripping out from under his vest that she screamed again. One of the men ripped of is vest, and said something to Sergei. He looked at her, "He was shot with an armour piercing round. There is a lot of damage. Alexi is unsure of whether he'll live or die, yet, but he can't operate here. Hospitals are out of the question; we can't be sure if this cabal is monitoring them. What we need is somewhere Alexi can operate. Our planned safehouse is too far away." She sobbed, before her head shot up. "Your phone, give me your phone!" He gave it to her. Desperately, she dialed.

Line Break

**Unknown Location**

"Who is this?" Reddington listened as Elizabeth sobbed about Ressler being shot, and them needing a safehouse that was close by. "Lizzy, listen to me, you need to calm down." Wincing slightly at the volume achieved, even through a phone, he waited until she settled down before speaking, "Lizzy, if you would let me finish, I can help you." Silence, "Very well, here's where you need to go."

Line Break

**Somewhere in Moscow**

Masha relayed the instructions given to her by Reddington to the driver, and they sped off. The whole time, she just looked at Ressler, Watching the blood seep out of the bandage applied to the wound. Praying he would make it. Needing him to make. She didn't know what her feelings were towards the man that lay in front of her, yet, but she knew she'd be absolutely devastated if he died.

It was only ten minutes later that they pulled up to a nondescript house, and pilled out. Masha watched as Alexi and another man carefully carried Ressler out of the vehicle and inside the building. She went to follow them into the room that was designated to be the medical theatre, but was held back by Sergei, "He would not want you to see this, it will be gruesome and bloody, and he will be in much pain. Alexi will let me know if he is starting to fade, and he will let you go and say your goodbyes." With tears in her eyes, Masha nodded, and went to sit in a chair looking out a window. She saw nothing of the pristine and beautiful neighborhood around her, she just kept thinking about the man a few meters away, who had saved her life, possibly at the cost of his own. She also thought of her swirling feelings for him, wondering what they all meant, and at the same time, knowing exactly that. But those thoughts scared her.

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Aram waved her over, talking on the phone. When he got off, he looked at her and shook his head. "That was Agent Vladislav with the FSB. He said he stopped the plane, but agent's Keen and Ressler weren't among the passengers." Feeling her curiosity overwhelm her for a moment, she had to ask, "Did he say who was on that plane if it wasn't agent's Keen or Ressler?" Aram nodded, "He did actually, said it was the daughter of a KGB officer and her bodyguards, along with the man she was sponsoring for citizenship." Samar growled, "Damn him!" and stalked away, leaving a very confused Aram behind her.

**AN: There we go! Chapter 10 done. And in record time as well, if memory serves. Just about three hours to write this bad boy. For those of you wondering, again, what, if anything, I'm doing with pairing, I think it's fairly obvious by now. I debated not doing a paring at all, or making up some random Russian guy, but in the end, I just like Keenler too much not to do it, as I feel like it is the direction the show should have gone, instead of constantly throwing her back at that bastard Tom. I don't like the guy, in case you couldn't tell, and it pissed me off to no end that he kept coming back. But in this story, Tom gets a big ol' middle finger and can stay out of my bloody story. Ok, rant over.**


	11. Having Drinks With The Russian President

**Hello hello. So, I have been uploading the documents as I write them, in order not to lose them, and I decided to do some maths to see how we are going. Bloody hell. This chapter will put us over 40k words. Its one thing to say, 'Oh yeah, I'm shooting for 100k,' but it's another entirely to actually be 40% of the way there, after only about a week and a half. I admit I've not been as zealous writing this week, as I have finals next week, so those obviously come first, but I've run into a bit of free time, and decided to do a little writing to while the time away. Anyway, I know many of you are probably wondering about the ending of last chapter, as in, 'Why the bloody hell did you do that?! They could have been home free!' Well, yeah, they could have, and all will be explained in this chapter (Future Me: Actually it won't, but hey, I'm not perfect, sue me), which I will do my utmost to get to 3k, but honestly, I'm running out of stuff to put into this last chapter of arc one. I actually wouldn't mind another muse moment, but I'm not counting on it, so be aware of that. Bloody hell, another insanely long author's note. Does anyone even read these? I'd actually really like to know. I'm not going to stop writing them, because at the very least, I can read them and remember what the hell I was thinking at the time. Also, I may have missed something, but this is already really AU, so it doesn't matter at this point anyway, but I have never heard how high ranking in the KGB Katarina was, so in this story, she was pretty bloody high, I honestly kinda imagine her as a female Jason Bourne, but Russian, so make of that what you will. I honestly think this might be my longest AN yet, so without further ado, onto the story.**

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Samar Navabi was very unhappy. This fact was only exacerbated by the fact that she, legally, couldn't do anything about the current situation. Just a few minutes ago, she had been told, in a roundabout fashion of course, that Keen and Ressler had made it into Moscow. The FSB agent very pointedly told her he had not found 'Agents Keen or Ressler.' Then he went on to tell her, again, not in as many words, that Keen had been awarded citizenship and was sponsoring Ressler, who she could only imagine had quit the FBI at some point between when she had left him and him landing on the tarmac in Moscow. It was annoying, now they had to start an extradition case, and recently, the Russians weren't fond of cooperating when those were mentioned. She sighed, and went to her terminal to make an official extradition request to the Kremlin. She very much doubted that anything would come of it, after all, they had seemed very interested in getting Keen to Moscow as quickly, and relatively quietly, as possible. And it seemed whatever higher power was orchestrating the whole thing, had extended that to include Ressler as well. Still, protocol is protocol, and she wasn't going to play this any way but by the rules, unlike Ressler, who let his emotions get in the way of his job. She briefly wondered if that was her strict Mossad training speaking, if the FBI was more lenient with these kinds of things, but shook her head, it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting Keen and now Ressler back to the states, to face trial for their actions. She doubted Keen would ever step on US soil ever again without full immunity, nor would the Kremlin let her, and she figured the same would extend to Ressler, but wasn't sure; it wouldn't hurt anyone to try at any rate, and no one could accuse her of acting in any way but by the book.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Moscow, 7 Hours Later**

Masha was still siting, looking out the window when Sergei came up to her. "He'll live," ignoring her sobs of relief for the moment, he continued, not leaving anything out for her benefit, "It was touch and go for the first few hours, and he died a few time on the table, but we brought him back and he's stable now. Masha, before you get too excited, I need to warn you, he's in a coma now, it's not medically induced. We don't know when he will wake up. Alexi is hopeful it will be within a year, but at this point in time, he says it is too soon to really tell." Masha had run a gamut of emotions during his explanation, relief when she heard that he was going to make it, despair at hearing he had died, multiple times! And worry when she heard that he had slipped into a coma.

Steeling herself, she said, "It doesn't matter, he's alive, and I refuse to believe he won't come back; he's too stubborn for that." Her voice quieted down, "Can I see him?" Sergei nodded, you can see him for a while, but it won't be good to simply stand vigil over him while he's like this. Try to limit the time you spend with him. But we can discuss this later. Go visit with him for a time, then get ready to go to your meeting." She looked at him, confused, "Meeting, what meeting?" He smirked at her, "You'll see. Make sure you dress well, though, and a shower wouldn't go amiss. Have Alexi look at your head, see what he says about your wound."

She nodded and left the room. Knocking quietly, she heard a grunt, and took it as permission. Inside, she saw a man covered in blood putting away surgical instruments. Tentatively, she asked, "Are you Alexi?" Getting a nod, she continued, "Sergei told me I could visit with him for a while, he also told me to have you look at my head wound, and about taking a shower?" He nodded and beckoned her forward. She started forward, until her foot hit something wet and sticky. Looking down, she suppressed the urge to vomit, the area around the bed, and the bed itself was absolutely covered in blood. Alexi gave a grim chuckle, "He is lucky to live. Very close few times. Had to give him blood drip," He gestured to the IV rack containing large bags of blood, that she hadn't noticed until now.

Swallowing, she kept walking until she was in front of the man. He grabbed a clean pair of scissors, and gently cut away the bandages on her head. She winced when the gauze pulled slightly at the stiches, but it was soon over. He looked her over and, after placing a smaller, waterproof bandage over her stiches, nodded and allowed her to go see Ressler.

He was laying on his stomach, and his lower back was a mangled mess, or at least, she supposed it was before the multitude of stitches. Seeing her reaction, Alexi explained, "Bullet was armour piercing, force behind it shattered plating, tore up back." She nodded; glad the shooter hadn't used anything stronger than an amour piercing round. She remembered when Reddington had been shot by an explosive round that somehow didn't go off when he was hit. She remembered the stress while watching them carefully extract it, and she didn't want to think about Ressler going through that.

Giving one last look at Ressler, she nodded to Alexi and went to look for a place to shower. She quickly stopped, however, and went to find Sergei instead. Finding him, she got his attention, "What else am I supposed to wear aside from this? I didn't exactly have time to pack." He looked at her and nodded, "Of course, very well, I'll have one of the men wash them while you are showering."

Although she was at first hesitant, she knew she didn't have much in the way of other options. Nodding, she asked for directions to the nearest shower.

Line Break

Masha walked out in her considerably cleaner clothes, and tracked down Sergei, "I'm ready to go to this meeting of yours. Are you going to tell me who it is with now?" He smiled at her, "No, Ms. Rostova, I will not. Patience is a virtue you must have in this world, and we will be your teachers in that, and more." She raised an eyebrow, "More?" He chuckled, "You don't honestly expect to live in Russia, and _not_ learn how to speak Russian, do you?" She blushed, "I guess not, no. So, you'll be my linguistics tutors, then?" He smirked, "Among other things." She growled slightly when he refused to say any more on the subject.

"Well, let's be off then, shall we? I apparently have a very important meeting to get to."

He looked at her seriously, "Ms. Rostova, I hope the events at the airfield have proved to you that, even though you have left United States territory, that you are still not safe. Please let us do our job and protect you." She looked back at him and nodded; she had learned her lesson.

Allowing some of the men to go out before her, she was shuffled back to the Humvees, and soon, they were on their way.

Line Break

**The Kremlin**

There was a knock at the door, and the man looked up, "_Come in._" The door opened and in walked one of his ministers. "_Good afternoon, Mr. President. I understand you have a guest coming to visit you soon. I was hoping I could impose on you to make it an open meeting with all of the ministers._" An eyebrow was raised, "_What reason do you have for requesting this. I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing at this point, simply wondering._" The man adjusted his tie, clearing his throat, "_Well, Mr. President, I like to think I keep well abreast of world news, and I have a fair idea of who this guest is. If my guess is correct, I think it would be in our best interest to allow all the ministers to ask what their intentions are among other things._"

The man looked steadily at the man before him, before holding up a finger and typing something into his computer. After a minute, he looked back up, "_Minister, while I understand where you are coming from, and I shall certainly take your concerns under consideration while in this meeting, I'm afraid I will not be making it an open meeting. If that is all, have a good day._" The man nodded, and left.

Sitting at his desk, the man rubbed his forehead, muttering, "_What are you playing at?_"

Putting it aside for a moment, he prepared to welcome his imminently arriving guests, before once more hearing a knock at his door.

Line Break

Masha looked around in wonder, taking in the architecture around her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sergei asked from the front seat. She could only nod, still looking around. Sergei started barking in Russian, snapping her out of her reverie. The Humvees parked right in front of one of the buildings. Getting out the same way they got in, they entered.

They were held up only momentarily by the security officer, but after a few barked words by Sergei, they were allowed to pass without relinquishing their weapons. Looking at them, Masha wasn't convinced the loss of their guns, knives, explosives and who knows what else, would be that much of a hindrance to them. She had the feeling that, to a man, they were all more than competent at hand to hand fighting. Suddenly, she had a terrible suspicion of what other things her 'education' would include.

So lost in thought was she, that she bumped into one of the men in front of her. She sheepishly looked at him, only to blush crimson as he said something in Russian, and they all laughed. Then and there, she resolved to learn Russian as quickly as she could.

Grumbling, she gestured to the door in askance, and the man knocked. Getting some confirmation, he opened the door. Entering, they finally allowed her inside, and when she saw who was in the room, she felt her jaw drop, before she snapped it back into place and she groaned. "Why am I not surprised?"

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Samar growled as she read the email in response to her extradition request. Either the Russians had decided they were going to be uncooperative in the extreme, or Keen and Ressler had been more subtle than she gave them credit for.

Glaring once more at the short but infuriating email, she wanted to kick the computer in front of her.

_Agent Navabi,_

_I'm sorry, we have no record of an Agent Elizabeth Keen or an Agent Donald Ressler entering the country. We will be on the lookout for them, but at this time we cannot authorize an outstanding extradition._

_My deepest apologies,_

_Raya Maximov, FSB_

It drove her crazy, the Russians clearly didn't want to help her, and were saying as much, all under the guise of being unable to help. The thought did cross her mind that perhaps there were big players making sure that things went a certain way, but even after working with Reddington and realizing that there is no shortage of such players, she still didn't want to consider it. Though she knew, intellectually, that the cabal was most likely behind Keen's incrimination, that didn't stop her from doing her job. And though she knew that Keen had Reddington in her corner, a large and powerful player in his own right, she refused to let this become the struggle of two criminal titans. Why? Even she wasn't quite sure, but it just didn't sit well with her, and she would be happier if she could get the lot of them behind bars. She knew it would be next to impossible to do so, legally at least, given the amount of legal and political power they wielded, but she would give it her best.

Line Break

**The Kremlin**

Masha was mainly talking to herself, but wasn't shy about letting her words be heard anyway, "Why I am even surprised by this, I have no idea. I mean, yeah, it's completely fine and normal that you're just sat here, having drinks with the Russian President. Honestly…" She trailed off, muttering things that none of the men in the room had any doubts were less than flattering words about the focus of her ire.

Finishing his drink, the man stood up, "Lizzy, my dear! It's so good to see you as well! Did you have a good flight? I can't imagine it was as comfortable as my jet, but to each their own, I suppose." She just growled, "Red, my day has been less than stellar, so I really don't need your specific brand of annoying right now." Reddington looked at her in surprise, which then morphed into understanding, "Ah, yes, young Donald, how is he? Still alive, I hope." Letting out an explosive breath, "Yes, he's still alive, but he's in a coma, and Sergei's man doesn't know just when he'll wake up. He does think it will be within a year, however." Reddington looked at her strangely, "I'm sorry to hear that." Scrutinizing him, she was surprised to find that he seemed to truly mean it.

They were interrupted by a throat clearing in the room.

Looking to the source, Masha felt her face go bright red. Hastily stammering out apologies, she flushed even more as the man just laughed and waved them away. "Ms. Rostova, though I know it was slightly marred by that unfortunate shooting at the airstrip, may I welcome you to Russia, and on my people's and my country's behalf, may I apologize for that incident?" Doing her best not to stammer, Masha thanked him and told him that it was neither his nor his country's fault.

He smiled, "I am glad to hear that. I hear that your exit from the United States was even more exciting." She snorted, then flushed once again for doing so. Trying to keep her composure, she said, "I don't remember most of it myself, I took a pretty bad hit to the head early on," At this point, she removed the hat she had been wearing to show that about half her hair had been sheared off, and the very angry and prominent wound on the side of her head. Smiling self-consciously, she put the hat back on and continued. "My… Ressler told me about what happened later, but it's still a bit hazy, my head was still not quite working yet."

Nodding, the man cleared his throat, "Ms. Rostova, I'll be frank, when I became president, I was briefed on a lot of things. Most of these things were simply ongoing military operations and the like. A smaller number were things that I could have easily gone my entire life knowing. But there was only one thing that I was briefed on that I never expected to need to do anything about. Can you guess what that thing was?"

Masha toed the ground slightly, "If I had to guess, I'd say it was something to do with me." The man nodded, "Yes, Ms. Rostova, that would be correct. I never expected operation Red Hammer to become active, but it did, and now we are in an interesting situation." Masha looked up at him, "What do you mean, sir?" He gestured for her to sit down, "Well, for starters, something that I didn't expect this morning was for Raymond Reddington to walk into my office and tell me of some sort of shadow organization that is apparently the real power in the world. The cabal?" She nodded, and he continued, "But that …interesting… meeting aside, I have refreshed myself on the protocols required should operation Red Hammer go active, and among other things, I was to tell your guards this." With that, he said something to them in Russian, the only words she thought she got were finance minister. Sergei nodded, and began quietly talking to his men.

"Now that that is completed," He turned back to her, "Ms. Rostova, I must say, either your mother held a gun to his head, or my predecessor was quite infatuated with her, because he allowed her several concessions in his role as President. Essentially, however you require my help, you have it. Within reason, of course. I can _not_ mobilize the entire Russian armed forces should your boyfriend break your heart, but in your defense, there is very little I do not have the authorization to do." While she had blushed at the boyfriend comment, her jaw quickly dropped at the extent of the power her mother was able to bring to bear in her defense. Seeing her expression, he nodded, "I see you understand. I have to ask, Ms. Rostova, what do you plan to do, now that you are here in Russia, as a citizen, of course, your mother would not be so sloppy as to forget that." She nodded, then stopped to think.

Haltingly, she began, "Well, to be honest, until Ressler, the man who got shot, is back up and at 100%, I'm not planning to do anything too crazy. Sergei has offered to teach me Russian, _among other things_," as she said that, she glared at the offending man, who simply smiled and shook his head. Huffing, she turned back, only to see the man smiling at her, and she blushed again, "Yes, well. In terms of long-term plans, I can't really say I have any at the moment, aside from live my life. Sergei and his men should be able to assure that I get the chance to. Aside from that, I guess getting some new clothes and other things should be pretty high on my list, I haven't got much else with me aside from this. That's about it, though."

As if just seeing what she was wearing for the first time, Reddington cut in, "Good heavens, Lizzy! Is that really what you decided to wear to a meeting with the President of Russia? Oh, this just won't do. Vladimir, I'm sorry, but I simply _must_ cut this meeting short. I need to take Lizzy here shopping for some proper apparel."

Sputtering helplessly, Masha was dragged out the door.

Line Break

"_Excuse me minister, package for you._" Nodding, the man signed for it, before grabbing the proffered box. Waiting for the man to leave, he slit the box open and dumped the contents out on his desk. He gulped a little, but picked up the letter,

_You know what you must do. Do not fail us_.

Gulping one last time, he slid the glove on.

Line Break

"Ms. Rostova!" Looking up, she saw a man walking towards her. "I heard you were here. I was a colleague of your mother's. It's good to see you finally where you belong." He outstretched his arm, aiming to shake hers, when Reddington sprang into action, "Lizzy, down!" Putting action to word, he pushed her down and went for his jacket. He was too slow however, and shots from behind her rang out. She screamed as she saw red stains bloom on his white button down.

"What the hell just happened?" She shrieked over the screams of people running away from the gunshots. "The man was armed, Lizzy. He was going to shoot you. Given the fact that he's also Russia's Finance Minister, I'd say President Putin's information was spot on."

Helping her up, Reddington spoke once more, "Come on, Lizzy, no need for you to stick around. Go back to the safehouse with Sergei and his men, I'll meet you there and then we can go shopping."

**AN: And there we have it. The end of the first arc. Honestly, I can only hope that I start getting ideas for the smaller plot points of the second one quickly, or I will have a pretty shite second arc. Easily broke 3k, don't know what I was worried about, but to be fair, I did write this over the course of two days. The music I was listening to while writing this was Cutting Crew's Died in Your Arms on repeat. I find it helps to have a song on repeat as it quickly fades into background noise and you aren't constantly having your flow interrupted by new music. I learned m lesson after that YouTube mix. Writing chapters listening to that took me six hours easily. I'm probably going to switch it up with each chapter, don't know why, so don't ask, and I'll put it in at the end so people can go listen to it and see if they find any influences of it in the chapter. Anyway, I just posted chapter two, so, unless something goes wrong, I should be posting a chapter every Thursday. Though you all probably know that by the time this one goes out, eh, it's relevant to me.**


	12. It's Been A Year And A Half, Ressler

**Huzzah! Second arc begins with this chapter! Just like that first author's note said, I don't often plan things out, rather, I just start typing and see where things go. And like I've said in these last few author's notes that I've written, I don't have any clue what I'm going to do with the smaller parts. I have a few ideas, and that's always the best place to start, but how I'm going to turn those few ideas into tenish chapters, well, that's a whole other problem entirely. I have been going on a bit of a nostalgia trip recently, so if there are references that don't fit in with my normal writing, I apologize. With any luck, this chapter won't be that hard, as it is essentially setting the framework for the rest of the arc, so I should have plenty of content. I just need to make sure that I set up things that will take more than one chapter to resolve. And the scariest part is that I have an entire **_**third**_** arc planned in the back of my mind. I thought 100k was a lofty goal, now I'm likely to hit it halfway through this arc. Bloody hell. Anyway, enough chatter, onto the story!**

**Unknown Location**

Donald Ressler felt like shit. He wasn't all that surprised by that fact; he had been shot after all. He was struggling to keep himself conscious, the bed he was laying on was so soft, and he just wanted to sink back in and go to sleep again. Keen would understand, he had been shot, he deserved a bit of a lay in.

That thought sent a bolt of energy through him. _Keen! No, wait. It's Masha now. Huh, going to have to get used to that._ He tried to get up, but winced when the flash of pain from his body warned him off doing that.

Breathing deeply to prepare himself for the pain, he tried to roll over. Gritting his teeth, it took him a few tries, but at last, he was laying on his back. The constant throbbing told him he probably wasn't being very smart, but he was determined to find out where he was. Maneuvering his body into position, he used the headboard to lift himself up into a sitting position, wincing as he felt his body protest the actions. _What the hell is wrong with me? Why is my body so sore? Well, aside from being shot, that is._ Soldiering past the pain, he pushed off the bed.

And instantly cursed when his legs gave out and he saw the floor rushing up to his face. Managing to roll out of the fall, he lay on his back, wondering what was going on, when the door opened. He saw a man lean in, and when he saw Ressler laying on the floor, said something that Ressler couldn't understand. Hearing footsteps moving away, the man who had spoken walked in, and helped him up.

Leaning heavily on him, Ressler was led back to the bed, and helped in with his back against the headboard. He heard lighter footsteps thundering towards him, and saw Masha running towards him, a smile on her face.

He looked at her in wonder; he had never seen her as carefree and happy, she seemed to have escaped a massive weight that had been holding her down since he had met her, and she had never looked more beautiful. He mentally shook his head, where had that thought come from? He was still not fully recovered from being shot, that's why he was having these thoughts come unbidden to the fore, at least, that's what he told himself.

His eyes widened as he saw Masha leap towards him, only for the man to catch her, and start berating her, again in a language he couldn't understand, though now that he was slightly more awake, he suspected it was Russian. Masha pouted, and jabbered back to him in the same language. Ressler blinked; she hadn't been able to speak Russian as far as he was aware. "Masha?" He rasped. His throat was as dry as a desert, and that one word had felt like he was rubbing sandpaper along his throat. Concern filled her eyes, and she rushed to get him a glass of water. As he drank the soothing and refreshing water, she jabbered away at him in Russian. Once he finished the glass, he set it down and gently grabbed her shoulders, "Masha, I can't understand a word you're saying." She blinked, then blushed red as the man laughed, and left the room.

She got up and closed the door. Turning back, she looked at him, "How are you feeling, Ressler?" He considered, "Aside from feeling generally like I couldn't take on a toddler at the moment, I'm feeling just peachy. I'm not sure on the why either, I've been shot before, and I've never felt this weak after."

Seeing her face, he looked hard at her, "Masha, what's the matter, something's wrong." She sighed, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask this early. Oh, I was hoping to ease you into it." Ressler was getting a bit worried, "Masha, what is it? What didn't you want to tell me? Oh god, I'm dying, aren't I?" She whipped her head around, "What? No! Ressler, you're not dying! It's nothing like that, it's just…" She trailed off. Ressler grabbed her hands, "Masha, whatever it is, I can handle it. I'm a grown man, remember?"

She looked mournfully at him, "Ressler, it's… you've… you were… It's been a year and a half Ressler!" She finally wailed out. He blinked dumbly at her, "What?"

She sniffled, "You've been in a coma for a year and a half, Ressler. I…we were starting to worry you would never wake up."

He smiled at her and chuckled, "Good one, Masha, you almost had me there, your acting was great, but you were putting it on a bit thick. But seriously, how long have I been out?" She just stared at him a moment, before slapping him and running out. He stared dumbfounded after her, wondering what had prompted that reaction.

He heard footsteps coming and then the door opened, Ressler opened his mouth, before snapping it back closed.

"Hello, Donald."

Line Break

**Unknown Location, code name: The Post Office**

Samar Navabi had had just about enough. She didn't know how Ressler had kept it together, chasing Reddington for over five years, she was having trouble keeping her composure after one and a half. Her communications with the FSB had stopped about seven months in, after no leads had turned up, or at least that's what they told her, she held her own council about the validity of that, but for the past three months she had been trying to cultivate a contact in Russia with an old contact of hers that would be able to tell her conclusively. The only problem was, she had not checked in for about three weeks now, and Samar was starting to suspect that she had been compromised. At this point, she was seriously considering handing off the case to someone else and buggering off back to Mossad. She looked at the clock and sighed; well, it was about time to head to her apartment anyway. She was walking to her car when she felt something sting her neck. Clapping her hand to it, she felt something there. Plucking the object out, she saw a dart. She was already fading by the time she heard footsteps moving towards her. She did her best to fend of her attacker, but every second her movements became more sluggish, and her vision blurrier. The last thing she was aware of before the blackness fully claimed her was the sensation of being dragged.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Moscow**

Reddington looked up as Masha ran into the room, tears welling up in her eyes. When he asked her what was wrong, and she explained, he gave her a quick hug, before telling her he would take care of it.

Now, as he stood in front of the man who had hurt her, even unintentionally, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the slight hint of fear in his eyes. "Hello, Donald."

He said nothing. "Do you know why I am here?" He shrugged, "Are you here to tell me that Masha was telling the truth, that I _have_ been in a coma for a year and a half?" Looking steadily at him, Reddington said simply, "Yes." Ressler stilled, "You mean she wasn't just pulling a prank on me? I… Oh god… she hates me now, I made fun of her and she was actually worried… I've screwed up, big time, haven't I?" He ended in a whisper, probably not intending for Reddington to hear it, but he did. "Yes, Donald, you have screwed up, but you can fix this. Besides, had you used your brain at all, you would have realized she was speaking near fluent Russian, and that doesn't happen overnight, you know."

He hung his head, "Your right. Much as it pains me to admit it. I don't seem to be in any sort of shape to walk, could you please get her back in here so I can apologize?" Reddington actually laughed, "Donald! Have I taught you nothing? You always go to the lady to apologize; she _never_ comes to you when you are in the wrong. However, I will allow that the state of your muscles leave something to be desired at the moment. No matter, I have just the thing." Ressler was confused until he saw what Reddington was bringing over, "No, no. That's quite alright, if I can't walk, I'll crawl to her, that will show my penitence better, that really isn't necessary, I… Oh come now! Is this really necessary? Doesn't this count as invalid abuse on some level?" But his protests went unheeded as Reddington maneuvered him into the wheelchair.

Line Break

Masha could hear him before she saw him, his protests to whatever was happening heralding his arrival. She would have been slightly worried if not for the laughs of the men around the house as they witnessed the scene.

She was sitting in the same chair she had been sat in so long ago, ignoring the goings on inside in favour of what was happening in the outside world. She heard a throat clear, but didn't turn around. He sighed, "Masha, please look at me." She huffed a little, but didn't turn around. Not wanting to show the tears she knew were threatening to run down her face. She heard another voice, "My dear, I know he has hurt you, but please, give the man a chance." She sniffed, but slowly turned around.

And giggled at the sight before her. Ressler was sitting, strapped, in a wheelchair, and Reddington was pushing it. Unable to help herself, she asked, "isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Reddington looked at her sternly, "Careful, young lady." While Ressler just grumbled something about getting his revenge one day. She mock glared at Reddington, before shifting her gaze to Ressler and raising an eyebrow. He coughed, "Right, um, Masha, I am so very sorry for making fun of you when you were worried about me. It was uncalled for and slightly cruel, and I will do anything to make it up to you."

She smirked at him, "Anything?" He gulped, but steeled himself and nodded. She laughed, "Don't look so nervous, Ressler! I'm not going to make you do anything horrible." He let out a sigh, "Right now. It wouldn't be any fun for me if you were too weak to amuse me." At his face she couldn't hold it in any more and burst out laughing. She patted him on the shoulder and walked by them both, giving Reddington a bright smile as she did so. When she was out of earshot, he groaned, "I'm in for it now, aren't I?" Reddington chuckled, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, just make sure you don't get on her bad side again." Ressler nodded; he would have been doing that anyway, regardless of the advice just given to him.

Reddington wheeled him into a living room and told him to wait. Confused, especially because he wasn't exactly in any shape to move, he did so.

Line Break

Reddington left the house and got in his car. He had another appointment with that woman who thought she was being oh so clever. It was time to see just what else she knew.

Line Break

Masha heard a knock at the front door and went to check who was there. She met Sergei at the door. Raising an eyebrow at the _interestingly_ dressed man standing outside, she glanced at Sergei. "You know him?" He smiled, "Yes, this is a close accomplice of a mercenary friend of mine. He graciously asked him to come and see to Mr. Ressler's recovery." Furrowing her brows, "And what's with his getup?" Sergei coughed, "Ah, well, he is a bit, shall we say, set in his ways." Taking in the large white overcoat with suspicious bulges interspersed, the brownish red pants and the tight, knee high riding boots, Masha had to agree. With a slight frown marring his face, the man knocked again, with a more impatient tone to it.

Making his way to the door, Sergei opened it. "Hello, Doktor, thank you for taking the time to come and help us. Please, tell Misha I appreciate it as well. How is he doing, nowadays?" The man laughed, and Masha was sure she heard a slight maniacal tinge to it, "Oh, he is quite sedate these days. Missing the good old days, I'm sure! He has become even more like a bear, if you can believe it! Although, if he ever offers to make lunch, accept! He has become quite the chef" The two men shared a laugh, before Sergei says, "Well, when you see him again, tell him there is always room for him in my team." The man nodded, before pushing up his round, wireframe glasses, and seemingly only just noticing Masha, "Oh! My apologies fraulein! I did not see you there! My name is Doktor Ludvig. At your service." With that, he gave an exaggerated bow, and to Masha's surprise, there was an indignant squawk as he did so. Taken aback a bit, Masha hesitantly asked, "Um, do you have a bird with you, Doktor?" He reached behind him and undid the strap on his bag, and a dove flew out and landed on his shoulders. "Fraulein, this is Archimedes." Masha deadpanned, "You have a dove called Archimedes?" He smiled, "Ja. So, Vhere is my patient?"

With that statement, he pulled on elbow length surgical gloves and wandered deeper into the house. Masha felt slightly worried, and turned to Sergei, "Um, he _does_ know that Ressler doesn't need surgery, right?" Sergei just laughed, "Of course he does, this is just another one of his little quirks. He may be odd, and slightly unqualified, but he knows what he's doing." Masha was alarmed, "What do you mean, 'unqualified'?" Sergei laughed, "Well, he _is_ a battlefield medic, physical therapy is slightly outside his purview, but Misha assures me his is the best at what he does." Masha had one last question to ask before going to find Ressler and making sure the strange German didn't strap him to a table and start chopping off limbs. "Who is this Misha?" Sergei just laughed, "If I know the man at all, you will soon be meeting him yourself." And wouldn't say any more on the subject.

Shaking her head, Masha went to find Ressler and the eccentric Doktor. When she found them, the man was giving a slightly panicked looking Ressler a physical. "Turn your head, und cough." As he did so, he caught sight of Masha standing in the doorway. Pleading with his eyes, he begged her to save him from the crazy German. Hiding her mouth behind her hand, she smiled and shook her head. She almost burst out laughing when she saw the abject betrayal in his eyes.

Line Break

After giving Ressler a comprehensive physical exam, Dr. Ludwig helped him out of his wheelchair and then walk around the room, he then pulled out his bag again, and out came Archimedes, who it seemed Ressler hadn't seen yet, if his facial expression was something to by. Masha was surprised as well, not by the appearance of the bird, but by the fact he was diving into the bag and bringing the man what he asked for. She idly wondered how long it had taken him to train the bird to do that.

She was saddened to see the state Ressler was in, the year and a half long coma having atrophied his muscled to the point where he could barely do anything requiring more strength than keeping his head up. He was quickly sweating, trying to push, pull and resist at the Doktor's orders. She could also she the frustration in his eyes when his body refused to obey his commands. She knew this would be a hard road for anyone, but with how proud of a man Ressler was, it would be even harder for him to accept it, at first. She knew he would come to terms with it, he would have to, and then he would start on the road to recovery, and she would be there to help him every step of the way.

But until then, she had to watch as he struggled with the most basic of things. It was a good thing that Alexi had foreseen the troubles that would befall Ressler when he woke up around seven months into his coma, and had remodeled the house to be more accessible to someone in a wheelchair.

So deep in her thoughts was she, that when she came out, she realized the session was almost over. Ressler was breathing hard, and doing his best to alleviate the soreness that had seeped into his muscles. He was also covered in sweat. Looking at her, he asked, "Masha, could you help me get to a shower, I need one after that. She was starting to blush hard when Dr. Ludwig stopped it in its tracks, "Oh, there is no need for that, fraulein, I vill lead the man to his bath. Afterall, I am now his in-home physician."

Masha and Ressler had the exact same reaction, "What?!"

**AN: Okay, well, this one fought me more than I'd like to admit, I got up to when the good Doktor arrives and had to put it down for a couple of days. Admittedly, I had a final in that time, but I also needed to collect my thoughts on what I wanted to do with this arc. I haven't left myself as much working content as I would have hoped, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. The music for this chapter was The Sound of Silence by Disturbed, on loop of course. I have the music ready for the next two chapters, and they are interesting pieces of work, so those chapters may be quite interesting themselves. Also, to those of you who understood the references in the chapter, don't worry, I will not be using the **_**whole**_** team, but a few more are going to show up, both because I've got ideas on what I want, and if I'm going to use a role that one of them fits, why not, and because I simply like them, they amuse me. I'm quite happy, the story so far has gotten a fair bit of attention, and it seems to only be going up. Also, to anyone who thinks Masha's reaction is a bit strong, I asked my best friend what she would do were this to happen to me and I responded like that, and, well, now you know. Well, enough of that, I'm going to wrap this up, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.**


	13. And I Had Just Gotten This Cleaned

**Okay, so while you all won't notice this, for me its been a couple weeks since I even touched this story aside from uploading new chapters, and when I looked at the stats right before writing this, I saw I had gotten two reviews! Anyone who has written fanfiction before will agree with me when I say that getting reviews is one of the greatest things to happen, and I'm especially happy because both of these reviews were not only positive, but encouraging me to write more. Reviews aside, even though I haven't been actively looking at the story, I have been formulating things in my head, so I have more ideas on what I want to do, along with using some things I had setup in earlier chapters. I did actually have to read basically everything I'd written up to this point as I had forgotten some of the things I wanted to address, and I'll probably have to do that a few more times periodically to make sure I'm not leaving things out. When I did, I noticed that I had missed a few things in my review of the chapters, I fixed them, but I'm sure I missed a few more, just wanted to get that out there. Huh, by the time you will read this, I'll have probably fixed them, maybe not. This chapter brought to you despite the best efforts of my new dog, who loves to lick me, and seems to have a vendetta against my laptop.**

**Unknown location**

Samar woke up gradually, her head was pounding and her shoulders were sore. Trying to move them to alleviate the pain, she found that her arms were bound. After a quick check, she discovered her legs were bound as well. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw figures arrayed around her.

One moved closer and into the dim light thrown by the clichéd single bare bulb above her. It turned out to be a slightly pinch faced man wearing a two-piece suit. He was very slight, and slightly small in stature. He stood, simply looking at her for a few moments, before he gestured and a small stool was brought forward and he sat on it. Regarding her once more, he finally spoke, "Do you know why you are here, Agent Navabi?" She was silent, and simply glared at him, he tutted, "Come now, Agent Navabi, surely you know who I work for, at least?" She glared some more, before spitting the name at him, "Reddington." He smiled slightly, "Very good. Then you _do_ know why you are here, no?" She was silent, and started to slowly rub her wrists against the rope, trying to loosen her bonds.

The man started to look irritated, "Look, I'm trying to have a conversation. Conversation, _by definition_, requires you to participate! Honestly, it's like trying to talk to a brick wall. This doesn't have to be this hard, I say something, you respond, and we go from there. Can we please give that a try? Let's try this once more, Then you _do _know why you are here, no?"

Samar was silent for a moment, considering her options, before gritting her teeth and speaking through them, "No." The man seemed genuinely surprised, "'No.' You actually don't know why you are here? Seriously? Not a single clue as to why you are here?" He looked around at the shadowy figures, "Can you believe this, honestly." He huffed and turned back to her, "Well, I can't believe I have to spell this out for you, but here. Mr. Reddington does not like being spied on. There, does _that _ring any bells?"

She remained impassive, and settled for glaring at him again. He threw his hands up in the air and stood up, "I cannot believe you, I try and have a relatively civil discourse, and you just sit there silent, like a golem. Ugh, I'm done with you. Take her back to her apartment."

She heard footsteps approaching her from behind, and swung her newly freed hands behind her in an effort to fend the attacker off. Her hands were caught and she felt the sting of a needle in her neck. The world quickly turned hazy again and she slumped in her chair, powerless. As black encroached her vision, she was once more dragged away.

Line Break

**Somewhere inside of Washington DC, Months Earlier**

In a secure room in a nondescript skyscraper, a large conference table was situated with television monitors surrounding it. Sat at this table, and being shown on the monitors, were some of the most powerful men and women on the planet, they were also some of the most evil and corrupt criminals the world over. They were known as the cabal, the shadow government of the world. Right now, they were debating on a single topic, an ex-FBI agent, one Elizabeth Keen, more specifically, their failure to capture or kill her. After close to an hour of back and forth, with no real progress being made, the leader raised his hands for quiet, and, after a few more moments of debate, got it. "While there have been a few good ideas, thrown around, I have a much simpler solution, and cheaper than some that have been thrown around," He glanced at a few members, then continued, "I know of an asset who specializes in assassination, he is renowned in the underworld for always completing his contract. I will contact him and put a hit on Agent Keen. However, it will take time; he is a very methodical and careful man."

The began discussing the pros and cons of hiring the man, but, in the end, they decided to do so, feeling comfortable in the knowledge that in a few short months, the headache that was FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen would be dead. It would only be later that they realized the magnitude of the mistake they had just made, and how they had just started in motion the beginning of their downfall.

Line Break

**Moscow, Present Day**

Masha was still reeling from the fact that the crazy German would be living with them. She had thought it was bad enough that he was going to be Ressler's physical therapist, although still pretty funny, at least for her, but for him to be staying with them until Ressler was healed, which would take months, at best, was… She had to find Sergei. If only to make her displeasure known.

She knew it was a good idea to have an in-home physician while Ressler healed, and especially one they could trust, but she just had to wonder why Sergei's friend had chosen him, of all people.

She couldn't find Sergei, however. This wasn't unusual, the men were often in and out of the house, running errands, training and who knew what else, almost at all hours of the day, and that wasn't taking into account the rotating guard schedule.

At this point, she was a little calmer and more collected, and with that had come the clarity of mind that told her that while Sergei and his men may tease her, outside of her training with them, they never did anything without her best interests in mind.

With that thought, she went to go find Reddington, he was always good for at least a random story of his childhood or two, she had noted that at least half of them ended in his classmate's death, and the other half didn't seem to be that interesting for him to talk about.

After a search of the whole house, however, she couldn't find him. Asking on of the men currently in the house, she found out he had left shorty after the doktor's arrival. Idly, she wondered what he was doing.

Line Break

**Somewhere Outside Moscow**

Reddington's car pulled up outside the abandoned warehouse, he and his escort, which comprised of Sam and T, entered the building and past the guards standing silent in the shadows. Entering the inner room, he approached the woman cuffed to the cot. "I'm sure those muffled noises are scathing insults, my dear, but I'm afraid the gag is doing its job wonderfully and I'll never truly know." She glared at him, and he laughed, "But of course, we should get down to business."

Pulling up a chair, he sat and looked at her, before gesturing and receiving a file folder. He gave it a cursory glance before negligently tossing it onto the table beside him. "Emmaline Conagher, I thought I made it perfectly clear to you last time we met that I had no intentions of allowing you to spy on me with those little toys of yours again. I let you leave under the agreement that you would never do such a thing again. You do remember that part of our last encounter, don't you?" She nodded, having lost the glare already, and starting the transition to fear.

He laughed again, this one had noticeably less humor in it. "And the funniest part of the whole thing is, under any other circumstances, I probably would have let you go again, after a suitable… punishment… had been doled out, of course. I do so love those little toys of yours, it gives my research team something to do when they would otherwise be doing nothing. Being in the armed forces taught me one thing at least; idle hands truly are the devil's tools. Much better to be filling sandbags than to be lounging in one's bunk getting fat, or in a bar, getting drunk. But I digress. Sadly, under the current circumstances, I can't have what you've seen be getting out…" He was interrupted by a buzzing from his phone, sparing it a glance, he looked back at the captive woman, "And it seems the person responsible for you being in this mess has realized the error of her ways and agreed to stop attempting to spy on me. However, while she was spared, I'm afraid this time, you will not be."

Her eyes widened and she began making muffled pleas for her life, but Reddington paid her no mind as he calmly drew his pistol and shot her in the head.

He shook his head, "What a shame, it's too bad she took that assignment from Agent Navabi, I could have used her talents in the future. However, she was too much of a risk for Lizzy's wellbeing." He looked down at his suit and saw there was a noticeable blood splatter on it, "Oh dear, and I had just gotten this cleaned as well. No matter, let's get back to the house, shall we?"

Line Break

**Somewhere in Moscow, Days Later**

Masha and Ressler, accompanied by Dr. Ludwig, were in a park, getting some fresh air, and in Ressler's case, seeing Moscow properly for the first time.

They were discussing topics at random, one leading fluidly, though not always logically, into the next. Both were enjoying the others company, but didn't say anything on the topic, for fear of breaking the moment.

Masha had just finished regaling Ressler with the story of her first day in Moscow, and meeting Vladimir Putin and then being forcefully dragged _out_ of the meeting by none other then Raymond Reddington himself, who had been having drinks with the Russian president when they had arrived, for a shopping trip no less, when Ressler thought of something. "Masha, why don't you have a problem with Reddington calling you 'Lizzy'? I thought you were trying to kill off Elizabeth Keen for good?"

She nodded, "I am, but he and I sat down one day, while you were… out of commission…" He grimaced slightly, "and we talked it through. I hadn't ever explained to him my thought process behind that message I left for you, and well, it kinda came back to bite me a little."

_Flashback: 7 Months Earlier_

Masha was sitting next to Ressler's still form when she heard footsteps approaching her and a hand settle on her shoulder, and Reddington's voice from behind her, "I know it may not feel like it, but sitting next to him, waiting and hoping he'll wake up will do neither of you any good, you should go and do something outside of this room. He wouldn't want you wasting away in this room either."

She looked up at him, a slight frown marring her face, "How would you know? And what would you propose I do instead?" He smiled in a knowing way, "Donald and I have more in common than you think, especially when it comes to you. As for what you should do, why not have a talk with me? There are somethings I would like to discuss with you."

She laughed, and there was a bitter note to it, "I should have known you had some angle, talking about my well being and all." Reddington was silent, she shrugged, "Fine, I guess a little time away couldn't hurt."

They moved to the living room, and sat down across from each other. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "Well, you were the one who wanted to talk. I'm here, so talk." He took a moment to compose himself, then looked at her, "First of all, Lizzy, I need to know something, and I want your honest opinion." She nodded, slightly hesitant about what he was going to ask her about now. She had the sudden fear that it was going to be about her unspoken feelings for Ressler. She, in the safety of her own mind, may acknowledge what they were, but she was _not _ready to speak about them aloud, and especially not to _Reddington _of all people. She shuddered internally; it would feel like talking to her father about it. She may have talked with Sam about a lot of things, but her feelings about boys was not one of them. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she braced her self mentally and nodded her agreement.

Reddington nodded, then spoke, "Lizzy, throughout this whole thing, from when you called me after shooting Tom Connolly, to now, have I ever, in your view, done something that did not have your best interests in mind?" Masha blinked, whatever she had been expecting, that certainly wasn't it. She shook her head, "No, Red, I can't think of a single time." He nodded, "Then can you explain to me why you spoke with me how you did just now in Donald's room?" She felt her face heat, it was exactly like being chastised by her father, "I'm sorry, Red, I'm just so concerned about Ressler, we're a month away from when he's supposed to wake up, and he hasn't shown a single sign of doing so. I guess I have gotten a little snippy as of late." Reddington smiled softly at her, "I had a feeling that was the answer, thank you for being honest with me, Lizzy…" He trailed of as he noticed something in the corner of the room.

Masha looked at him, "Is everything okay, Red?" He looked back at her and smiled again, "Perfectly, my dear, just thought I saw something, and it reminded me of something I have to do later. However, that is not entirely what I wanted to talk with you about. Do you remember the message you left Donald in your blood?" Masha nodded, she had been hoping he had forgotten, but she supposed he did deserve an explanation.

Haltingly, she began to speak. "Well, when we were in that safehouse and you were looking downstairs for anything that might be useful, I went upstairs and found a bleaching kit. I was just sort of standing there, debating whether or not to use it, as I knew it would be helpful not to look exactly like the pictures they were showing, but at the same time, I felt that bleaching my hair would be like killing part of what made Elizabeth Keen, Elizabeth Keen. But then I began thinking about that more, and realized that maybe killing Elizabeth Keen wasn't such a bad idea after all. I only kept the name Keen in an attempt to keep the memories of the good time I had with Tom, or whatever his name really is. But after a while, I started to notice the distrust in peoples' eyes when they talked to me, and I couldn't help but feel it was the specter of his name, causing them to question my intentions. And I know that it's kind of silly, considering I'll probably never associate with them again, well, except for Ressler, and he was the worst, at hiding his distrust I mean, I didn't think he would end up with us, or anything, but I still did it, because I wanted to start over, I guess and…"

Reddington moved to sit next to her and put an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her to him. "Breath, Lizzy, there's no need to get worked up about it." She nodded, and leaned into him slightly, feeling spent after the sudden outpour of emotion she had just experienced. She looked at him again, "I told Ressler on the plane that Elizabeth Keen was dead, and to call me Masha, but I think it would sound weird for you to call me that…" She was interrupted by Reddington's chuckle, "You would be surprised, my dear. I knew you when you were just Masha Rostova, and called you as such, but I will admit to having gotten used to your name being Elizabeth, however, if you were about to allow me leeway in calling you by that…" At the questioning lilt in his voice, she nodded, and he continued, "Then I will continue to do so, unless you ask of me otherwise." She smiled at him and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep and letting the day's stresses melt off of her.

_Flashback Ends_

Ressler looked at her, "I had been wondering why you were okay with him calling you 'Lizzy', but I couldn't call you 'Keen'. I didn't realize that my feelings towards Tom were affecting you so much, I'm sorry, Masha." She nodded and smiled at him, before stumbling. At the same moment, she felt and heard something fly past her head. Seconds later, they heard the crack of a rifle.

**AN. Finally. This chapter fought me every step of the way, and I don't know why. It took me several days to finish, but I did it, and I'm pretty happy with the result. Couple things before I reveal this week's music. First, I got curious, and looked up the style of writing I'm doing, apparently, it's third person omniscient, so there's that if you were interested for some reason. Second, I'm thinking that at the end of this story, which won't be for a while, don't worry, I could do a Q&A chapter, clear up any questions you all got as you read, what do you all think about that idea? Thirdly, I'm currently reading a webcomic by the name of Grrl Power. It's absolutely bloody amazing and I highly recommend it. DaveB, the author, does a great job, and he does it for free, so go and give the guy some love, yeah? Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for, music. This week it was Wolf Totem by The HU. Mongolian Throat Singing, it's weird, but cool.**


	14. What Do You Mean, The Real Training

**Hello all! Oh boy, once again it has been a few weeks since I touched this, but I'm hoping to bang this chapter out in a couple hours, so there's that, and I actually have a few plot points written down so I know what I want to do with this chapter. I'm not going to say what it is here, I'm saving it for the end like normal, but I did change my music because I like the song I'm listing to better. In this chapter I do start to set things up for more long-term stuff, which is always good, and I've started to put a list of things to do at the bottom of my writing so I know where I'm going and I can add to it while I'm writing if ideas come to me. Anyway, without much further ado, I give you, Chapter 14. Oh, also, if anyone is wondering, I want to do chapter names eventually, but I want to finish the story first. However, if you have a name for a chapter, please let me know, I'm open to suggestions. I'm thinking about doing a naming convention similar to Lucifer, in that the name comes from something someone says in the chapter, but it doesn't have to pertain exactly to what happens in the chapter. Chapter names aside, please enjoy this next chapter.**

**Washington D.C., 18 Months Earlier**

Dembe drove away from Reddington and Elizabeth and to the suburban part of the city. He intended to collect his daughter, before getting them both out of the country, before the cabal figured things out. As he drove up to the house, however, he saw he may have been too late; the door was ajar, and there was an unknown car in the drive. Dembe calmly pulled over and got out of his car, before pulling out his gun and jogging over to the house. He slowly began clearing the house, and had finished the ground floor when he heard a thump and whisper, "Isabella?!" He called out, hoping to hear his daughter's voice respond. However, he was greeted with silence. Worry overtaking him, he moved upstairs and started to look for her, when he heard the distinctive sound of a gun being cocked and froze. He slowly raised his hands, and heard a French accented voice command him to lay down his gun.

He did, and slowly turned to see a sharply dressed man wearing a balaclava holding a revolver. "It is okay, ma chere, you can come out now." As he spoke, Dembe saw his daughter come out from her hiding place and give a combination gasp and sob, before rushing over and hugging him. "Isabella, you are okay!" She smiled at him, and nodded, before hugging him tighter. Dembe looked to the other man, who had holstered his revolver, and raised an eyebrow. "Compliments of Mr. Reddington," Dembe nodded and hugged his daughter close to him, before speaking. "Thank you for watching her, but we need to leave." The man nodded and moved downstairs. Turning back to his daughter, he spoke, "Isabella, go and pack a bag, we have to leave now." Concerned, she asked him, "What's going on, dad?" He shook his head, "I'll tell you later, but we have to leave, now." She hugged him once more and left to pack her bag.

Heading to the ground floor, he found the man sat at a table, looking out onto the street. He had taken off his balaclava, and Dembe saw him to be a man in his thirties or forties with a well maintained five o'clock shadow.

Sitting down next to him, Dembe was silent for a few moments, looking out onto the street, before looking back to the man, "Thank you for looking after her, Raymond always told me he would look out for my family, I'm just sorry it had to come to this." The man nodded, "Yes, the antagonism between Mr. Reddington and the cabal has been slowly escalating for some time, I fear this may be the trigger that truly sets of a war." Dembe nodded in contemplation, before looking at the man once more, "What is your name?" The man gave a small smirk, "I go by many names, you may call me Monsieur Dumont, or simply, Dumont." Deme nodded, then looked up to the stairs as Isabella descended. Dembe looked to Dumont, who nodded back, and they left the house.

Dumont looked to Dembe, "Yours or mine?" Dembe shook his head, "They might know my plates, we should take your car." Dumont nodded and they got in.

Dembe looked over, "Where are we going?" Dumont drove out of the drive before responding, "The plan is to cross by freighter into Europe, where we will then receive instructions from Mr. Reddington about where to meet him. We are trying to keep as low a profile as possible, so you'll want to use an ID that has not been potentially compromised, I took the liberty of preparing one for both you and your daughter." Putting action to word, he pointed to the glove compartment. Opening it, Dembe found two sets of papers and passports, identifying him and his daughter as the Coulotte family, from Senegal. Handing Isabella hers, he pocketed his, and they continued to drive.

Time Skip, 45 Minutes

After a rather uneventful drive, they arrived at the harbor. Presenting their IDs to the security guards, they drove in and purchased passage across the pond, they waited for an hour or two before finding their way to the berth of the ship that was their ticket out of the states. As their ship finally loosed its moorings and headed out to sea, Dembe let the tension flow out of him, though he knew they were not free yet, they were much safer where they were now, than where they had been an hour ago. Turning around, He embraced his daughter and gave a nod to Dumont. He smiled to himself, Raymond always kept his promises, especially to those he cared for.

Line Break

**Moscow, 4 Months Later**

Masha was sitting at the breakfast table, reading a book, when Sergei walked up to her, "Ms. Rostova, it is time to begin your training." She looked at him and sighed, with a resigned tone of voice, asked, "I don't suppose there is any way I'm getting out of this, is there?" Sergei shook his head, "No, Ms. Rostova, there is not. You need this training to be prepared for anything.

She nodded, then went to get changed. Entering the area designated for training, she found the rest of Sergei's men, who weren't otherwise occupied, stretching and warming up. Sergei walked up to her,

"Today, Ms. Rostova, we will be finding your limits, documenting them, then, quickly, exceeding them. After, we will be testing your proficiencies in many forms of martial arts, then knife, staff and stick fighting. Finally, we will cover improvised weapons, marksmanship, pressure points and grappling. Of course, that is only the physical side, we will also be teaching you Russian, both spoken and written, first aid, survival and tradecraft. And that is just to start with. As you begin to master skills, new ones will be introduced. These skills will mostly be languages, but others will be considered at your request and our discretion.

Your lessons will be spread out throughout the week, and will last from six in the morning, to four in the evening. I understand that it will be difficult at first, and you will struggle with the full workload, so we will be easing you into it, but within two months, we will be going full tilt.

As I said, today we will just be finding your limits and documenting them in order to see how you progress. Tomorrow, however, be prepared to start your lessons fully.

Do you have any questions, Ms. Rostova?"

Masha looked at him blankly for a few moments, before shaking her head slightly and asking, "So, I have lessons everyday throughout the week, from six to four?" He shook his head, "Not the entire week, just Monday through Friday, you will have weekends off."

She looked a bit apprehensive about the number of things she was due to learn, and so Sergei tried to put her fears to rest, "Do not be alarmed by the amount of material, you will be learning different things throughout the week. So that you do not fall into a routine, we will be changing things up each week. Again, for today, however, we will just be getting a baseline on your fitness levels."

What followed that statement was one of the most torturous experiences of her life so far. She was run into the ground, pushed to her limits, and then, only after what felt like a never-ending battery of tests, was she allowed to stop.

Panting for air, and sweating profusely, Masha flopped to the ground, only to be hauled back up to a standing position by a barely out of breath Sergei. She glared at him, but he was unrepentant, "Standing is much better for you, better air flow and blood flow."

Still glaring, Masha nonetheless stayed standing and gulped in great lungfuls of air.

Sergei grinned at her, "Chin up, Ms. Rostova, you did very well. Go, wash off and rest, and join us for breakfast tomorrow, the real training begins then."

Masha stared at him, "What do you mean, the _real_ training?" she spluttered incredulously. The men laughed uproariously, but said nothing.

Grumbling to herself, Masha walked off to take a long, hot bath.

Line Break

**Somewhere in Eastern France**

Dembe looked out the window of his hotel room, taking in the quiet early morning, thinking on the past four months. They'd had to move slowly through the UK and France, mostly backpacking, trying to avoid overusing their false IDs, just to be safe, Dumont had insisted on it, and knowing the power and reach of the cabal well himself, Dembe had agreed.

They had occasionally checked in with Raymond, just to let him know of their progress, but he was usually quite busy making sure no one in the cabal knew where any of them were.

Today, however, it was to be the end of their slow progress; they were meeting with an accomplice of Dumont's, an old French Army corporal, who apparently specialized in moving people through hostile territory…

Dembe's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, and he pulled his gun before moving to check who it was. Seeing Dumont move to do the same, Dembe covered the door while Dumont looked through the peephole. He turned and nodded to Dembe, before opening the door. In walked a very short man, wearing a red scarf, a red beret and a drab coat. Dumont closed the door, then opened his arms. "Mon ami, it has been a long time." The two men embraced and kissed each other on each cheek. After pulling apart, Dumont gestured to Dembe, "Dembe, this is Corporal LeBeau, Corporal LeBeau, this is Dembe, the man we are moving to Moscow."

LeBeau studied him, and nodded, "Well, though most of the old tunnels have collapsed, I know a few are still open, and even after that, my old network is still mostly in place, we should have no problems getting you to Moscow." Dembe nodded, then asked, "What about my daughter, Isabella?" The man frowned in thought for a moment, then spoke, "It shouldn't be too much of an issue, especially if you are family by blood, the resemblance will help your case." Dembe nodded, "She is." LeBeau nodded, "Very well, I will plan your route today, and we will leave in the morning." He walked away and pulled out from his bag, maps and papers, which he began to putter around with.

Line Break

**Moscow, 1 Month Later**

Masha had just finished her training for the day when there was a knock at the door. Going over to see who it was, she was met there by one of Sergei's men. Looking out to who had knocked, she gave a gasp, before flinging open the door and leaping at the man who stood outside. He caught her easily, and returned her enthusiastic hug. "Dembe! I'm so glad to see you, we were getting worried." He gave an easy chuckle, "Elizabeth, it is good to see you as well." She looked at him, "Oh, I don't go by that name anymore, my name is Masha." He smiled, "Masha, it is good to see you as well." They were interrupted by a pointed cough, and Masha looked to see a woman about her age standing slightly behind Dembe. She blushed slightly, "Oh, hello there, I'm Masha, who are you?" The woman looked at her, "I'm Isabella, Dembe's daughter." Masha whipped her head back around to Dembe, "I didn't know you had a daughter!" His face began to darken slightly, and Masha gasped again, "Dembe! Are you blushing?" at almost the same time, Isabella exclaimed, "Dad, are you embarrassed?" The two girls started to laugh slightly when Reddington appeared out of nowhere, "Dembe, it's good to see you again my friend!" Dembe smiled at him, "It is good to see you as well, Raymond."

Reddington looked around, as if just noticing they were stood outside and admonished Masha, "Lizzy, it's poor form to leave your guests standing outside, honestly, have I taught you nothing? Dembe, Isabella, please, come in." And with that, he walked inside, clearly expecting them all to follow him. Noticing their raised eyebrows at Reddington's use of the name 'Lizzy' she simply rolled her eyes at Reddington's retreating form and waving them inside saying, "It's a long story."

Line Break

**3 Weeks Later**

Masha and Isabella had become fast friends, bonding over many things, not the least of which was being the only two women there. No one had explicitly stated that the room in which Ressler lay was off limits, but Masha had the sneaking suspicion that Dembe had encouraged Isabella to leave her alone when she went in there to be with him.

Two weeks in, however, and she had finally allowed her curiosity to get the best of her, asking Masha what she did in that room. Masha told her an edited version of the events leading to her ending up as Masha Rostova, fleeing to Moscow for protection, and Ressler getting shot. She left out most of the classified things, such as the cabal, only telling her she was framed for being a terrorist.

Isabella, much like her father, was not dumb, in fact, she was very astute. So, after that conversation, she looked at her and simply stated, "You love him."

Masha blinked, her cheeks slightly pinking, before sighing and nodding, "Yes, I do."

**And we're going to end it here. I know it's a bit under 3k, but I didn't want to ruin that moment by tacking on anything after it. As I'm typing this, I have just posted chapters 11 and 13, if this is confusing, see my chapter 15 author's note. Anyway, what this means is that I am out of backlogged chapters, so I will have to start writing at least semi regularly again. However, with my self-imposed goal of 100k words no longer in place, I can write as much or as little plot in each chapter as I want. I think when we get into the third arc, the one that deals directly with the cabal, my writing my speed up, as I think I'm much better suited to writing action scenes, and while they may not be action packed, I think they'll have more action than what I'm currently writing. Next chapter will start the transition from Arc Two to Arc Three, and then friends, we start the beginning of the end. I didn't listen to any music for this one, just the sounds of two different lakes.**


	15. Keep That Bloodthirsty Bird Away From Me

**Okay, so I am going to be writing the rest of the story before posting this chapter, so once this goes out, you all will know that I have finished with this and there will be no more delays from then until I post the last chapter. For those who PM'd me, I'm doing better, still working through some stuff, but better. It was mostly the stress of going to a different Uni, and dealing with a few other personal things, now that I'm all settled in at Uni, I have found some time to write again. Thank you all for being patient with me, without further ado, I will start writing the last chapter of the second arc. (Future Me, also, I don't care if medical stuff works differently in the real world this is an AU and I needed it this way for plot reasons. Future Me 2: I've just realized there's a bit of a logic hole in my plan, but honestly, I can't be arsed to fix it, as it would require much more retconning than I want to do, so if you notice it, please just ignore it.)**

**Present Day, Somewhere in Moscow**

Masha had hardly registered the bullet slicing open her cheek before the crack of the rifle sounded and her training kicked in. She rolled behind a close tree, knowing the doktor would make sure Ressler was safe. The doktor was many things, crazy and eccentric coming to mind, but she knew he prided himself of the safety of his patients, and would be making sure he was safe.

She cursed the fact that she had left her gun at the house, only bringing knives with her, being more than able to defend herself from an armed opponent at close range at this point in her training. They had covered how to fight against snipers, but hadn't expected to need to do so today, after all, they were all sure the cabal had no idea where in Russia they were. She was just about to ask the doktor what he thought they should do, when she heard him speak, "Vait a minute, I know that gun, I vould recognize it anyvere!" She whipped her head around, incredulous, "You know who's shooting at us?" She hissed, he nodded, a serene smile on his face.

Masha was certain he had finally snapped as he stepped out from behind his covered and shouted out, "Mr. Mundy, put that gun down before you hurt yourself! Surely you haven't forgotten me already, have you?" Masha was waiting for the doktor's body to fly back with the impact of a bullet, but nothing happened. She was starting to worry when minutes passed, and the smile the doktor wore starting to look more deranged than serene.

"Um, doktor?" she queried hesitantly, "Vait a moment more, fraulein, he should be coming here shortly."

No sooner had the doktor spoke, before Masha heard the sounds of someone moving closer, readying one of her knives just in case, Masha nearly dropped it when she heard an Australian accent call out, "Sorry 'bout that nurse! Didn't see ya there." The doktor simply sniffed, before calling out again, "Well, are you going to come out Mr. Mundy, or am I going to have to send Archimedes after you again?" Masha whipped her head around again, "'Again'?" she asked, but was waved off. There was a startled yelp-type noise from the stranger before he was hurrying towards them, calling out, "You keep that bloodthirsty bird away from me doc!"

Masha was becoming more and more confused as the conversation went on, and she hadn't even seen the man who had just tried to kill her, that their doctor apparently knew. She was getting a headache just from trying to think it all through.

She was saved from having to reason it out further by the appearance of her would-be killer. And average man who looked like he just stepped of the set of Crocodile Dundee, carrying a rifle in one hand, an SMG on one hip and a massive knife at the other. He slung the rifle on his back, and clapped the doktor on his shoulder. "How ya been, doc? I haven't seen you since, what, Crimea?" The doktor shook his head, "The Sudan, remember?" The man's eyes widened, then he slapped his forehead, "Of course, how could I forget the Sudan?"

_Never mind_, thought Masha, _the headache is back_. Clearing her throat, she took perverse delight in the way the Australian jumped, clearly having forgot about her. He whirled around, hands resting on either side of his body, ready to draw either weapon, when he saw who had made the noise. Not moving, he spoke, "She with you, doc?" The doktor rolled his eyes, but answered, "Yes, Mr. Mundy, she is vith me, kindly refrain from killing her." His hands dropped away, and suddenly he looked almost embarrassed, "Right, ehm, sorry 'bout the whole trying to kill you thing, just doing my job, you understand."

Masha opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to form words that would show just how confused she was, before she clicked her jaw shut, marched over to Ressler, grabbed him by the arm and started frog-marching him back the way they came. Calling over her shoulder she addressed the two strange men, "When you two decide to start making some sense, come talk with us. Doktor, I trust you'll make sure he is safe before bringing him?"

She could hear the infuriating amusement in his voice as he called back, "Ja, fraulein."

Line Break

**30 Minutes later**

Masha was sitting on the couch with Ressler, both reading when the door opened, and they heard the doktor calling out to them, "Fraulein, Herr Ressler, vere are you?" Masha looked over to Ressler, and saw that he was resigned to more strangeness from the two men, so she exhaled and prepared herself. "In the sitting room," Masha called back. Shortly after, the two men entered and took seats. The doktor started things off, "Fraulein Masha, this is my friend from my time as a mercenary, Mr. Mundy. As you probably realized, he acted as the marksman of our group. I have talked to him to discover how he found us. It turns out he vas contracted by the cabal to kill you, and it took him months of research to find you vith his very extensive connections, something the cabal can not hope to match. Contrary to popular opinion, there is generally some honor among thieves, or, in this case, mercenaries. If one of our own group hadn't turned traitor, he never vould ha found you…"

"Don't worry, I've taken care of that particular rat." Masha jumped at the sound of Reddington's voice from right behind her. Looking at him, she asked, "Red?" He smiled and said, "Later, Lizzy, let's hear what else Doktor Ludwig has to say, doktor?"

The man in question cleared his throat and continued, "Yes, vell, as I vas saying, it is highly unlikely that anyone else vill be able to find you, so you can rest assured of your safety." Here, he paused and Masha suddenly had a very bad feeling about whatever he was going to say next. "However, there is still the problem of the cabal. They vill expect Mr. Mundy here to kill you soon, and they vill also require proof of death, and a mere doctored photo vill not suffice, they vill require him to present them vith a part of you that can be verified, like a finger, whose prints can be verified as your own, along vith the doctored photo."

Masha gulped, she was right, she hadn't liked what he'd had to say, but she also saw the truth in it. "Okay." Ressler whipped his head around, "What! Masha, you can't be serious!" She looked him dead in the eye, "Ressler, if I don't, they'll be after me the rest of my life. If I have to lose a finger to achieve that, well, I'd be prepared to lose a hell of a lot more than that for that assurance. Besides, its not like I have to be awake for it, they could knock me out before they cut it off, and do the picture while I'm out." The doktor cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Actually, fraulein, ve can't." Seeing Ressler about to protest, he held up a hand, "Anesthetics act as a slight coagulant, meaning that the blood pool from the finger would be smaller than it should be, and this is easily noticeable by anyone with a background similar to mine, vich I am guessing the cabal has, at least one of." Reddington's confirming nod saw all of Ressler's arguments dry up, before Masha spoke up, "Why couldn't you knock me out the old-fashioned way, that would work wouldn't it?"

Masha's hopeful expression faded with the doktor's head shake, "Unfortunately, fraulein, much as anesthetics act as a coagulant, slowing blood flow, when someone is knocked unconscious, their heart slows down in order to keep them alive longer, and this would also reduce the blood flow out of your body. I'm afraid, fraulein, that you must be awake and aware when this happens."

Masha nodded silently, but spoke to Ressler when she noticed him losing his cool, "Ressler, its like I just said, I'm going through with this for the peace of mind I'll get that the cabal will no longer be hunting me, be trying to kill or hurt those I care about to get to me," she pointedly looked at his still recovering form as she said this. Ressler however, was worried about something else entirely, "Yes, but Masha, it only takes one picture of you and they'll know you aren't dead, then they will start hunting you more viciously than ever, the only way you'll ever truly be safe is if they are all no longer in power… or dead"

Masha gaped at him, did Donald "By the rules" Ressler just suggest that they murder some of the most powerful people on the planet? Apparently he had just read her mind, because he took her hands in his own, "Masha, this past month with you has shown me that not only are there somethings in life more important than upholding the rules, there are some people in this world who the rules just simply don't apply to, generally because they have the money or power to make any charges simply go away. So if I have to stop thinking of the world as black and white, good and bad, and enter a more grey area to keep you alive, well, I would shoot every one of the bastards myself if I had to."

"That was beautiful. Kinda morbid, but beautiful." Masha whipped around and squealed, "Isabella, when did you get back?!" Not giving her a chance to answer, Masha leapt over the couch and raced over to her, grabbing her in a hug before dragging her of, chatting the whole time.

The four men left in the room looked at each other in confusion before getting back to planning.

Line Break

Ressler shook his head, sharing the same bemused expression as Doktor Ludwig and Mr. Mundy, but Reddington had a slight smile on his face, unsurprisingly, it was also Reddington who got them back on track. "Donald, while I'm sure you would indeed kill each and every one of the cabal members given the chance, odds are that you won't." Seeing Ressler about to speak, he held up a hand, "I agree the best way to deal with them would be to end their threat, permanently, not one man in this room has near the resources to do so, believe me, I have given more than a fair share of thought to this very issue. However, there is one person in this house who has the resources available required to end the cabal once and for all. However, even I do not know each and every member of the cabal, in fact, most meetings don't comprise all the members. There is only one time in which each and every member must be present in some capacity, and that is when a new member is initiated, and that is when we will strike."

Ressler could see a fairly large hole in the plan, and was quick to point it out, "But how will we know when the next member gets initiated?"

Reddington smiled, "Why, Donald, didn't you know? You're sitting across from him." Seeing where he was going, Ressler nodded, but brought up another point, "But why would they make him a member, killing Masha would make them like him, sure, but that wouldn't make them make him a member." Reddington just smiled again, "Correct, Donald, but Mr. Mundy here will have gotten lucky, as he'll have caught me taking Lizzy for a walk, and, knowing from researching Lizzy how much they want me dead as well, he took the opportunity to kill us both, presenting the required evidence when they question him, they will be very pleased with his work, and he will ask to become their on-hand assassin, which they will accept as they have asked in the past, but he has always tried to stay as neutral as possible, this will then require them all to attend in some way or another. That is when we launch a simultaneous global strike against each and every one of them."

Ressler liked the idea in theory, but he saw one other problem, "When you say they have to attend in one way or another, do you mean that some of them won't be physically there?" Reddington nodded, and Ressler continued, "Well then, how can we guarantee that we get them all?" Reddington had a look on his face that could only be described as sinisterly gleeful, "Well, some of it will involve some friends Lizzy has made during her time on the run, but the largest contribution will be coming from my new good friend, Vladimir Putin."

**Once again, I'm leaving it a bit short of 3k words, but I liked that as my ending for this chapter, so there we go. I have many ideas on how I'm going to proceed, and I'll probably end up using most of them, but there's one aspect I can almost guarantee no one will predict, and yes it does have to do with Mr. Vladimir Putin, but that's all I'll say on the subject for now. Depending on how next chapter turns out, I think I'll have three more after that, along with an epilogue. I'm really happy I took a break, because I'm actually excited about writing this again, the last two chapters were really starting to feel like a chore, but this one made me excited to write what's coming next. The music I listened to was whatever was playing in the community area of my Uni. **


	16. I Don't Like A Single Part Of This Plan

**Okay, this should be the last chapter of Arc Two, with Arc Three being the shortest yet, but I've found that I'm not bothered by that, I think I have a satisfactory ending in the works, and I am so bloody pleased with that, I couldn't care less if I'm going to be ending this story at only half of how long I originally wanted it to be. All your support for this story has been incredible, I never thought that this little thing that always bugged me about the show that I decided to do something about would actually go anywhere, and I can't thank you all enough for that. I'm actually getting a little teary that our time together is coming to an end, but I can't deny that our journey together has been something amazing for me, and to each and every one of you; I am grateful. Thank you.**

**Present Day, Somewhere in Moscow**

Masha and Isabella were just starting to catch each other up on what had been happening for the past week they had been apart when something massive slammed repeatedly against the solid wood door of the house, they both shrieked and were quickly pushed behind a wall of tactical gear and guns as Sergei's men sprang into action. The pounding sounded again, and one man made his way forward to cautiously look at what was happening, he looked back, and though she could not see his face, from his voice Masha could tell that it was Sergei himself, when he spoke urgently, "_Brace yourselves!" _and opened the door.

A massive shape burst through the entryway, a roar coming from it, tossing Sergei and his men left and right. Seeing this, Isabella started screaming again, and while Masha was feeling much braver either, knew she had to do something. Once again cursing herself for leaving herself defenseless, having put away her knives after entering the house, she assumed a stance and prepared herself to be thrown.

She felt herself picked up by the form, and was bracing herself to be thrown, when she noticed Isabella's screaming start to peter off, and realized that while she was indeed being lifted off the ground and being swung back and forth, it was because the monstrous being had her in a bear hug and was rocking her back and forth. Blinking in abject confusion, she looked up at the massive man, for that was undoubted what it was, holding her in his arms. "_Ehm, excuse me, who are you?_" The massive man looked down at her, "_Masha! It is so good to see you again! I am Misha, and I would have been here sooner if someone had let me know!_" Here he looked to where Sergei had gotten up ad taken off his helmet. Smiling, he responded, "_Well, Misha, you know how grumpy you get if you don't get your hibernation in…_" With that, the mountain of a man put Masha down and lumbered over to where Sergei was standing, and they started arguing in Russian too fast for Masha to understand.

Now that the excitement had worn down, Masha was able to look around and take stock of things, such as Sergei clearly knowing who the giant man was, and far more than normal of Sergei's men in their tactical gear. With a screech of anger, she stalked up to Sergei. To frustrated to speak in Russian, and also wanting Isabella to know what she had figured out, she yelled, "You planned this, didn't you! There's no way that you would just let a threat in, and there are for too many of your men geared up. Ugh, I just can't believe you! I was scared out of my mind!" She just started hitting him, too angry to continue, but it didn't really do much as he was still in his gear. Isabella came up behind her, glaring at Sergei herself, and pulled Masha away, "Come on, girl, from what you've told me, we've got some planning to do." Masha allowed herself to be pulled away, glaring the whole time at the unrepentant Sergei, who was being loudly laughed at by the mysterious Misha.

Line Break

Ressler had wanted to rush to Masha's aid when he heard her scream, but was stopped by two things. The first was his still recovering body, even with all the physical therapy, it was a long and arduous road, and he had just barely started, and Reddington had put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Knowing that Reddington would be rushing out as fast as he could if Masha was in any real danger, he was content to sit back and wait. After a few minutes, he heard her berate Sergei, before she was dragged back into the living room by a smirking Isabella, who all but threw her next to him, and then sat down herself. Noticing all the questioning looks, she defended her presence, "Masha has told me most of what you all discussed, I think I could have some ideas, or at least help with polishing them."

Accepting that, they all settled down to plan out how they were going to singlehandedly change the balance of power in the world forever.

Line Break

**Hours Later, the Kremlin**

President Vladimir Putin was in his office when his secretary buzzed him to say that Ms. Rostova and a group of her companions were asking to see him. He felt a shiver run down his spine, and somehow knew that whatever Ms. Rostova had to say, he probably wasn't going to like it. He also sensed that he wouldn't have a choice but to go along with it.

Line Break

**1 Hour Later, the Kremlin**

Vladimir Putin rubbed his temples, "I don't like a single part of this plan." Seeing they were about to protest, he held a up, forestalling their complaints, "I said I didn't like it, not that I didn't see the need for it or wouldn't go along with it, because I do, and I will, but I hope, for both our sakes, that this doesn't begin the next world war, you're sure that I can't quietly contact some of the people you know are safe? I would really feel better if this decision wasn't being made by a group of ex-pats, criminals and one head of state."

Masha looked to him with sympathy in her eyes, "I know how you feel, I keep thinking to myself that I don't have the right to make this decision, but if not me, who? Very few people outside their organization know the cabal exist, and of that number, I'm positive we are the only ones willing _and_ able to do something about it. And if we don't then the cabal will keep on running the world behind everyone's backs, and I couldn't live with myself knowing I could have done something about it. I know there is a huge possibility of starting a global conflict, but I just can't justify to myself that the alternative would be better, so I, for one, vote that we go through with this, and damn the consequences, and at least make the world a better place should the worst happen and a new world order has to rise from the ashes of the old one."

Masha hadn't realized that at some point she had gotten up and started pacing, or the fact that her voice had been steadily rising, until Ressler got up and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes and quietly said, "And we'll be there, right by your side."

Isabella voiced her opinion with a slightly louder, "Damn straight," before blushing hard as she realized what she had said in front of the Russian president, who himself was nodding, still looking pensive, but still answered her aloud, "And you'll have the resources of mine needed for this as well, Ms. Rostova."

Masha could feel her own face beginning to heat up from the overwhelming, if slightly understated, show of support. Trying to ease her own awkwardness, she joked, "I hope you all don't expect me to give some pre battle speech or something, I think I'd die of embarrassment, save the cabal some trouble."

Her self-deprecating joke had the desired effect and cut through the growing silence, causing a few in the room to chuckle softly, namely Reddington and Putin.

Getting back to business, they sat down and began to discuss the logistics of setting up and pulling off a simultaneous planet-wide assault on likely heavily fortified enemy strongholds.

Line Break

**Hours later, Somewhere in Moscow**

Ressler felt the exhaustion of the day catching up to him harder than normal, or what would have been normal before being shot by a sniper and then being in a coma for nearly two years. Masha noticed and looked worriedly over at him, starting to come over. He waved her off, "I'm fine, Masha, just a bit tired is all." She gave him a look that said she clearly didn't believe him, and jabbed him in the ribs slightly, just a bit too close to his healed would for comfort. Seeing his wince, she glared at him, "Fine my ass, Ressler, you're flagging because your body still isn't used to too much physical exertion, you need to take it easy for a while." Glaring down any form of protest he might have come up with, she continued, "And don't think I didn't notice how you were talking as if you were going to be taking part in the attack, there is absolutely no way you will be putting yourself in danger so soon after nearly dying, _especially_ not when you're not even fully recovered from _that_!"

Chest heaving in anger, she made sure she had properly glared him in to submission, before turning and stalking into the house. Valiantly fighting down the blush that was threatening to surface after being so thoroughly and publicly slapped down by his… girlfriend? Love interest? Close platonic friend with limited benefits?- he'd figure that out later- he looked around, doing a bit of glaring himself at the smirks being directed his way from the other male members of their party, and the laughter in the eyes of Isabella, who gave him an almost sympathetic look before darting into the house after Masha.

"As if any of you would have done any better," Ressler bit out in retort to the smirks. Seeing that this got no reaction from the other men, he looked beseechingly at them, "You'll help me get there, right?" getting little more than a look from Dembe, and a snort of laughter from Reddington, who then went into the house himself, Ressler looked hopefully at Sergei, "While I have to agree with most of what Ms. Rostova has said, I also understand the need for vengeance. I promise you nothing, that is not to say however, that I will not misplace a set of tactical gear." Nodding at him, Ressler went inside, and started looking for Masha, both to try and right things with her, and because he needed to figure out where they stood, relationship wise.

He knew he was rather needlessly throwing himself once more into danger, but couldn't help himself, He had always done his best to protect her, even when she was on her first day at the FBI, scared and confused because she had been personally named by a wanted criminal, she had something about her that had drawn him to her, like a moth to a flame, and just like the moth, he got burned sometimes, but always considered the wounds well worth it.

Not to say that she appreciated him getting hurt for her, he knew, and though he knew he shouldn't tell her this, and probably wouldn't, for fear of reprisal both verbal and physical, even knowing what was about to happen, even if he had known that the bullet would kill him, he would jump in front of her every single time, because he loved her, and would do anything to keep her safe, even if she didn't want him doing it, even if it killed him. Because he loved her.

**Right, so I know things got a bit personal there at the end, but don't worry, I haven't lost the plot, I'm just having to rush a few things that would normally be better off growing as naturally as possible, story telling wise, rather than me just up and spelling it out, but, needs must, so there we are. This is the last chapter of arc two, and arc three will be the shortest yet, at only three chapters at most, depending on how drawn out I make the action scenes, and then one epilogue chapter, a Q & A if any of you are interested in that, and then the last thing for me to do will to remove the authors notes and name the chapters. Once again, thank you all for sticking by me through this whole thing, your reviews kept me going, at points I thought this was becoming an irredeemable train wreck, and then I'd get a review saying how much someone loved the story, and it allowed me to keep pushing through, once again, Thank You. Also, almost forgot, the music was Coldplay's Viva la Vida, and yes, I'm intentionally keeping the plan secret. Don't worry, I've got everything written out so I can't forget any important points.**


	17. Help Those Who Can Not Help Themselves

**Right, so welcome one and all to arc three of I am Masha Rostova. This is it, guys. This is likely one of the last, if not the last, chapters. I know I said that it may be up to three, but we'll have to see how expositional I get. At this point, I want to wrap this up so I can get onto my next project, but don't worry, this in no way means I will be rushing any bit of this. I was it to be as satisfying a conclusion as I can make it. And hey, even if this ends up being the last chapter, we still have an epilogue to look forward to, and as I said before, a Q & A if you are interested in me clarifying any points either story or thought process wise. Unlike any other chapter of this story, I have a comprehensive outline for this, so I hope it doesn't feel stilted, but I unreservedly apologize if it does, I don't want my final arc to feel like a movie script, I want it to feel like the satisfying end to an adventure we all shared. And so, without any further ado, I give you arc three.**

**1 Week Later, Somewhere in Washington DC**

Anise was just finishing up work for the day when her phone rang. Frowning in curiosity, she went over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Anise?" Anise squealed, "Elizabeth, is that you?!" She heard light laughter coming from the receiver, "Actually, I go by Masha now, it's the name my mother gave me, and it's been protecting me since I left you. How have you been?" Anise spent the next few minutes catching Masha up on notable events, before Masha cut in again, "Listen, Anise, how quickly can you and Freya get out of the country, and into Moscow?" Anise blinked, "Moscow? Masha, is this a joke? What's going on?" Masha was insistent, "Listen, Anise, I can't tell you what's going on over the phone, this has to be done in person, something's going to be going down soon, something huge, that will change the world forever, and we -I- need your help. So, can you please grab Freya and make your way as fast as you can, without attracting attention, to Moscow? I…I have to go now, please Anise, just trust me…" The phone clicked and Anise was left with a dial tone.

Confusion, fear and worry warred within her, until, hesitantly, she began to dial. The phone rang once, twice, three times, a fourth, and on the fifth ring her twin sister picked up, "Hello?" Anise hesitated, she knew this would sound crazy, but her sister would believe her, "Freya, how quickly can you get us to Moscow?" Her sister was silent for a moment, "Anise? Why do you want to go to Russia?" Debating for a moment, she elected to tell her sister a portion of the truth, "You remember Elizabeth? She wants us to meet her there, a vacation for us, and a chance to catch up for her." Freya was silent for a moment, then, "Yeah, I can get us a private jet. It'll be a few hours, but this time tomorrow we'll be freezing our toes off in mother Russia." Sagging in relief, Anise thanked her sister before hanging up and starting to pack.

Line Break

**4 Hours Later, Privet Jet, Somewhere over the Atlantic**

Freya rounded on her sister, who seemed more nervous than she had ever seen her. "Right, you, spill." Anise startled, "Huh? What do you mean?" Freya snorted, "I mean, you look like your waiting for us to get shot down or something." Chuckling, she almost missed Anise's whispered answer, "Huh, what did you say?" Anise looked at her, the fear she had been holding back clearly visible, "I _am_ worried we're going to be shot down." Freya wasn't happy with that, "Okay, girl, spill everything, _now_." Taking a deep breath, Anise told her about the phone call with Masha, the urgency with which she had told her to come to Moscow, and the fact that she was apparently about to do something that would change the world, and needed their help to do it. When she was done, she looked at her sister, clearly expecting her to understand why she was worried, but only saw thoughtfulness on her face. "Well, I guess we'll see when we get there, no?"

Line Break

**4 Hours Earlier, Somewhere in Washington DC**

Ringo closed the phone and called out in Spanish, "_Henry, JoJo, get over here, we're going to go talk with Los Chicos._" His brothers made their way over and looked questioningly at him, "_Why are we going to talk with them?_" Henry asked, and got a light cuff on the head for his troubles, "_Because I said so, and if that ain't enough, because the boss said so, clear?_" The other two nodded, and together the three of them made their way to talk with their on-again-off-again allies.

Line Break

**1 Hour Later**

The leader of Los Chicos looked incredulously at Ringo, "_Let me get this straight. You want to stage a DC wide gang war, that isn't really a gang war, with every gang in DC, some of which would just as soon kill us in our sleep as work with us, all on the word of your boss?"_ Ringo nodded, "_Don't worry my friend, not only is my boss a powerful man in his own right, he knows how the streets work, and made sure I could show off another kind of his power,_" Here he pulled out a roll of hundred dollar bills, "_I hold in my hand $100,000, and it's all yours, plus more, if you agree to work with us on this._" Though he was eagerly eyeing the money, Ringo could see the hesitation as well, "_And you want me go spread the word, my friend, that could easily cost me my life, not to mention I'm not sure they'll believe me._" Ringo nodded, he made valid points, in English he spoke, "And keeping you alive is very important, which is why my boss sent him," here he pointed to a man who had stayed mostly out of sight, lounging against a wall and smoking a cigarette. In a French accent the man spoke, "Aye, it is my job to keep you alive, it's what I'm paid for, at least." The other gang leader looked at him, "And what good is one man?" The man smirked, "Ah but my friend, I am one man yes, but I am also the leader of a group of mercenaries, called the Wild Geese, and we'll be running protection for you on this little mission of yours." With a snap of his fingers, men appeared from everywhere. Seemingly satisfied, the gang leader looked back to Ringo and spoke once more in Spanish, "_And why can't you do this mission?_" Ringo looked at him, "_It's well known that I don't exactly fully run my gang, and you know full well that it lowers the other's opinion of me. But you have their respect, if nothing else, so that's why you are doing it._" Grumbling, but acknowledging the truth in his words, the other man looked to the mercenary leader, "Fine, let's get this over Frenchman," He grinned, gesturing at the door and said, "After you, please."

Line Break

**6 Hours Later, Somewhere in Washington DC**

Ringo picked up the phone and dialed the number his boss had given him earlier that day. When the man picked up, he simply told him that all the gangs had agreed to his plan, and they would be ready to begin whenever he needed them. The man thanked him and hung up, and Ringo knew this number would never work for him again.

Line Break

**3 Hours Earlier, Somewhere in Washington DC**

Julia Andrews picked up her phone and answered it on the third ring, "Hello?" The voice on the other line surprised her, "Mrs. Andrews, so sorry to call you so shortly before I require your services, but I'm afraid what I'm currently working on is very time constrictive. Within two weeks the face of world politics and power will change forever, and while I assure you this action is entirely necessary, I understand that people will most often believe what the news tell them to. Thus, I am giving you a literal once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture this as it happens. Normally I would not even consider this, but with how sensitive this is going to be, we are going to need proof, and with the help of a chemist friend of mine, we are going to get it. Your job will be to record the confessions of these men and women, and then release them, in full, to every possible media outlet you can, we are going for shock and awe here Mrs. Andrews, do you understand this?" Julia was feeling pretty shocked herself by the information overload, but called upon her professionalism and experience to answer, "Yes…yes I can do that." There was silence for a moment before the man spoke again, "Mrs. Andrews, I will not lie to you, the things these men and women have done are horrific and disgusting, and the people in question are considered by the world to be leaders in one way or another. You are going to hear things that could scar you, are you still sure you want to do this?" She took a deep breath, ostensibly to consider her answer, but already knew what it would be, she had dedicated her life to finding the truth, and this seemed like it was going to pull the plug on the biggest conspiracy she had never heard of. Nodding her head, she spoke, "Yes, I'm sure." The man spoke one final time, "Be ready for my call, Mrs. Andrews, it will be soon, and do not breath a word of this to anyone." With that, the phone clicked off, and she was left to stare at it, wondering just exactly what she had signed up for.

She would let her boss know that she was soon to be called for a massive story, but would refuse to say anything more than that, and she would wait for the next call, letting her know she was about to begin documenting the story of the century.

Line Break

**9 Hours Earlier, Star City, Moscow**

The men loading onto the space shuttle were not normal cosmonauts, they were soldiers, though, to be fair, they were not normal soldiers either. They were members of Russia's elite underwater unit, which was the closest thing to zero g warfare they had. Another difference in normality was the weapons they carried. They were used to carrying different weapons, underwater battle required as much after all, but they were carrying non-lethal weapons. Stun guns, tranquilizers and crowd control were their armaments that day. They had just finished loading long tungsten rods into the cargo hold, and were anxious to start their journey.

After they had loaded on and strapped in, they watched as their pilots walked up in front of two men carrying a specialized radio wave emitter, a jammer as it was colloquially known, onto the ship.

Just like its crew and cargo, the ship itself was slightly modified to run on the same frequency as the jammer, so they wouldn't have any issues during travel. They were aware their mission was the opening move in a grand chess game being waged by a select few, they were all highly ranked enough to be told as much, and they knew that the success of the overall operation hinged on their success today, and knew that if they were to fail, many of their brothers in arms in other branches of the military could very well die. It was that fact more than any other that ensured that they would all be doing their very best to ensure that their mission was a complete success.

Line Break

**2 Hours Later, Space**

To most of the world, the USA Odin was simply a rest stop for American astronauts on their way to and from the ISS. So, it was with slight trepidation, but general ease that they prepared for a boarding maneuver from the Russian vessel that had sent out the distress call. Everything was fine until they docked and came aboard.

Line Break

**20 Minutes Earlier**

"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is Russian shuttle designation RU-9. We are having engine failure, and are requesting permission to dock at any nearby stations. Does anyone copy, over?" It wasn't long before the radio crackled to life, "RU-9, this is USA Odin, we have docking capabilities and engineers on board, we are preparing to align ourselves with you, do you copy, over?" The men breathed a sigh of relief, that was the hardest part over and done with. "USA Odin, we copy and are adjusting course to align with you, over." The men began to check that their weapons were ready, and began to get in formation when the ship's pilots began docking procedures.

Line Break

When the docking doors opened, the two men at the front tossed flashbangs inside. After they went off, the men charged in. After securing the docking bay, they split into their predetermined groups and made their way deeper into the station. Incapacitating everyone they met who wasn't part of their groups, they met up in the stations bridge. After ensuring everyone was okay, they began to collect the still forms of the station's original occupants.

Once they had them all gathered, they searched them for weapons, and once that was done, the majority kept watch over them while a few set up a screen and recording they had brought from Earth.

After a time, people began to stir, and the soldiers were quick to lay down the law. Once everyone was awake, the soldiers directed them to watch the recording. As the picture became clearer, they found they were looking at a still frame of Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of the soldiers pressed a button and the recording began to play.

"Ladies and gentlemen aboard the USA Odin, I am sorry for the slight deception and subsequent incapacitation, but I assure you, it was all entirely necessary. The men before you have risked much to come here, and though I'm sure you are worried and scared, please know they mean you no more harm. In fact, I hope you can work together for the next week or two. You see, recently it has come to my attention that all is not as it seems in the world. In fact, we are all being lied to on a daily basis. Allow me to explain that by first telling you a story. Years ago, while the Soviet Union was still in power there was a KGB Agent named Katarina Rostova. She was an incredible agent, and rose quickly through the ranks. While on a mission, she met a man, whom she fell in love with and shortly after they had an affair, and 9 months later, a daughter. This girl was born in Moscow, but quickly moved to the United States, as both realized they had enemies in Russia who would gladly kill their daughter, whose only crime was to be born to Katarina. While in the United States they met and befriended a man that I'm sure some of you know of, Raymond Reddington. Reddington promised he would care for their daughter, and did so, watching over her from afar for most of her life.

In the past few years however, he saw events were moving in such a way that necessitated him taking a more active role in her life. I will not cover the how's and why's, as it is considered top secret by the United States government and when this is all over, I want to have as much of a friendship as I can with them, but to make an already long story short, events occurred in a way that he did not predict, and they had to flee to Moscow, using a system her mother had put into place all those years ago. She has been living in Russia for the past year and a half, and has recently been shown that even physically far from those who would do her harm, she is not safe. If that were the end of the story I would be taking my own steps to prevent this, and I would not be telling you any of this, so please know that I take this very seriously, and should you choose to work with me, I will take any and all blame for your actions in the coming weeks. Ladies and gentlemen, I started this by saying you were being lied to, now let me explain.

For years the world has been run by a shadow organization called the cabal. It is a group made up of world leaders of varying importance, my own finance minister was one of them, he died trying to assassinate Ms. Rostova, and they have, quite simply, pushed me to my limit. It is never easy for one to hear they are not as in control as they think they should be, and just as easy to call this the ramblings of a conspiracy nut. I hope the fact that it is I who told you this lends legitimacy to my claims. Either way, in no more than two weeks' time, you will be receiving a data packet containing coordinats to locations around the world. These are your targets, yes, if you had not already guessed, I am aware of the true purpose of this station. Receiving that data packet will start an on-board countdown, and exactly 24 hours after you received it, you are to begin your attack on each location.

I know this is a lot to ask of you all, trust me, I went through the same thing myself when this idea was first given to me, but when I was in your position, being given this information, and offered a way to stop it, I too at first blanched at the idea of this, I was worried about starting the next world war, and I will be honest with you, we still might, but that same daughter of Katarina gave an impassioned and truthful oration on the day she brought this plan to me; if not me, if not us, who? Very few people are as aware of the situation as you now are, and even fewer are willing and able to do something about it.

Ladies, gentlemen, I am aware of the magnitude of the task I am asking you to do, more so than most, I'd wager. I know I am asking you to end many lives, but I console myself with the fact that no matter how many we ruin, they have ruined untold more. Once again, I cannot order you to do it, even if I could, I would not. I am asking you, from one decent, honest person to another, to please help those who cannot help themselves. Thank you."

With that, the screen went blank, and the assembled crowd instantly burst into conversation. One of the soldiers stepped forward. "You have heard why we are here; we need to know your answer." People looked at each other, wondering who would stand up and say something, when an older man, with greying hair stood, "I don't like how you came to be here, but I understand now why you did what you did, and I can't speak for the rest of these people, but you have my support. I was raised to treat my fellow man with honor and kindness, and it sounds like there isn't as much of that in the world as I would like to think." The crowd continued to murmur, but it was sounding more and more as if people agree with the old man, and soon they were all nodding and saying they'd help.

The soldiers smiled slightly, they had succeeded in their mission, now they just had to wait for the data packet to come in.

**Wow, okay, so I didn't think this chapter would be all set-up, but that means we have at least one more to go. For those of you who understood the reference, yes, I did go there, and yes, I am as giddy as a schoolgirl to write that part in the coming chapter. For the rest of you, just wait and see, it will be more entertaining that way. The music today was Bastille's cover of can't stop, and lastly, thank you all, once again for going down this road with me. No, I'm not going to stop saying thank you, get used to it. Anyway, with that, I will leave you here and see you next week with the conclusion to IAMR. Ciao.**


	18. You Killed Him

**Okay, ladies and gents, welcome to the last chapter of I am Masha Rostova. I don't care how long this chapter gets; I'm finishing this story here. My outline is fully fleshed out, so I know exactly where I'm going with this, though I may gloss over some stuff to get to the big ending. I don't know how well my big climax action scene is going to turn out, so I can only hope it meets your expectations. Once more, thank you all for sharing this journey with me, and without any further ado, let's wrap this adventure up.**

**1 Week Later, Somewhere in Moscow**

Things had been extremely hectic since the shuttle had taken off, with preparations being made almost 24/7. Masha had picked up Anise and Freya from the airstrip, and had hardly seen them since, they were busy finding as many of the cabal members as they possibly could using the impressive set of skills they shared between themselves. This was then used to find blueprints of all their houses. Once they knew the names of the members who weren't personally attending the induction ceremony, they would send these blueprints, along with coordinates to the USA Odin.

Reddington had assured Masha that on they day they stormed the cabal's headquarters, the local police would be far too busy to do anything about it, but, as she had told him, there were other groups who could impede their progress, which was why she was dialing a number she hadn't called for the better part of two years.

"Cooper." Masha almost cried, she hadn't realized how much she had missed him. "It's me, Cooper, Ma- Elizabeth." Cooper sounded shocked, "Elizabeth, I thought you were… actually I didn't know what to think. I figured you weren't dead, it would have been all over the news, but I hadn't heard anything in so long… How are you?" Masha spent the next half hour catching him up to the events of the past year and a half, at least the ones they were comfortable speaking about over the phone, before she had to bring the conversation back to why she had originally called, "Listen, somethings going to down soon, I can't be more specific over the phone, but when it does, I need a huge favor," Before he could get a word in edge-wise, she blurted out the next part, "I know you have no reason to trust me, especially after the way we left things, but this is really important and you're the only one who could help me with this that I know I can trust, and…" Cooper had laughter in his voice, but there was an underlayer of concern, "Woah, calm down, Masha, take a deep breath and tell me what you need my help with." Taking his advice, Masha breathed deeply for a few moments before speaking, "I need you to do your best to stop any army or national guard or anything from interfering." There was a heavy silence for a moment before Cooper spoke once more, "Masha, that is a very difficult thing for me to do without knowing more. Can you tell me anything?" Masha was near tears, "I really shouldn't have said as much as I did. Please, I'm trying to make the world a better place, but I need your help." There was another pause, before, "Fine, I'll see what I can do. And, Masha, when this is over, you and I are going to have a coffee, and you're going to tell me everything" Masha nearly flopped on the ground with the relief that flowed through her, "Thank you, Cooper. I'll hold you to that, and for what it's worth, I apologize, for... everything. Goodbye." She quickly hung up, not wanting to hear him say goodbye, because she didn't want that to be the last thing he ever said to her.

Line Break

Masha was nervous, though she figured she had a right to be, after all, she was about to get a finger chopped off. Next to her, Reddington was the definition of calm, and she both envied and hated him for it. The Australian assassin walked over to her and gave her a questioning look. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. With her eyes closed, the only warning she got was the whisper of the blade cutting through the air before white hot pain lanced through her hand. She screamed into the rag they had given her to bite down on, and tried to thrash around, but strong arms held her in place, so that she didn't mess up the forming blood puddle. She heard the sound of the blade and a small grunt signifying Reddington had just lost a finger as well.

Line Break

30 minutes had gone by before Masha was able to stay still enough for the makeup artists to make her look like she had been shot, they had done Reddington almost immediately after he lost his finger.

Once the photo was taken, the stump of her finger was cauterized, and they cleaned up the scene to remove any evidence of what had transpired there, before Mundy set off for the cabal's headquarters, in order to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible.

Line Break

**3 Days Later**

Anise was quick to tell them when the cabal decided to make Mundy their personal assassin, and that the ceremony would take place three days from then. From that moment on, both the safehouse and the upper echelons of the Kremlin were hives of activity as they began to implement the plan.

Using the information gathered by Anise and Freya, groups of Spetsnaz began to quietly mobilize around the globe. Based on the blueprints found, if the house had a bunker deemed to dangerous for the Spetsnaz, it was put on the list of locations to be sent to the USA Odin. The largest force made its way to the US, specifically DC, where they would storm the cabal HQ when the signal was given.

With two days left, the Spetsnaz around the world confirm that they are in place.

With one day left, the data packet is sent to the USA Odin.

With ten hours left, Masha, Reddington, Sergei and his men take a plane destined for DC. A disguised Ressler tags along.

With an hour left, Reddington makes a call to Julia Andrews, who meets Pip Bernadotte and his mercenaries for an escort.

With 45 minutes left, Masha and her escort make their way onto a building next to the cabal HQ.

With 40 minutes left, the zip line system is set up.

With 30 minutes left, Reddington calls his gang contact and tells him to get everyone in place.

With 15 minutes left, Reddington is told that the gangs are ready.

With 10 minutes left, snipers prepare to take out the cabal guards on the roof.

With 9 minutes left, Spetsnaz quietly storm the building and secure the lower floor, before making their way up.

With 7 minutes left, snipers take out the cabal guards.

With 3 minutes left, everyone is on the roof of the cabal HQ.

With 1 minute left, Reddington gives the gangs the green light.

With 0 minutes left, the world exploded.

Line Break

Exactly 24 hours after receiving the data packet, those aboard the USA Odin fire the first tungsten rod. Quickly reaching speeds of Mach 10, the rod impacts the earth with the force of a tactical nuclear bomb, leveling the building it hit.

This process is repeated time and again, until each and every house on the data packet is nothing but dust and rubble.

Line Break

At the exact same time, while those aboard the USA Odin busted bunkers, those cabal members who didn't have such extensive security in their place of residence were suddenly and simultaneously breached by squads of Spetsnaz. Their bodyguards were no match for the highly trained and well-equipped soldiers, and were quickly dispatched. The cabal members were apprehended, interrogated, and soon after, executed.

Line Break

Inside the cabal headquarters it was utter pandemonium. At first, they thought it was simple technological error when the Brazilian minister of justice's screen went black. Even the Ukrainian prime minister's house being swarmed by Spetsnaz didn't cause a massive stir. Until, that is, they heard him being interrogated about his actions as a member of the cabal. The director was about to start cursing retribution on Putin when the Paraguayan representative's screen went black as well. The director could only watch in mounting horror as one by one, screens either went black or those being shown were apprehended by Spetsnaz. He was about to order an evacuation of the building when there was the sound of metal clinking against carpet, and suddenly he couldn't see. Blindly groping, he managed to find a small alcove to hide himself as he tried to regain his senses. Distantly, he could hear popping sounds, which he absently identified as gunfire.

About a minute later, he finally blinked the last of the spots from his eyes and cautiously peered out. What he saw made his blood boil.

All the guards that had been stationed around the room were dead, most didn't even look as if they'd had the chance to draw their weapons. The other members were in on of two situations, most were in the process of being tied up and frisked for weapons, while those who had weapons in their hands were lying in pools of their own blood.

Quietly pulling his own gun, he was wondering what to do, when the one of the armoured figures removed her helmet, reveling that bitch Keen. He had her in his sights and was about to pull the trigger when he felt the cool metal of a blade caress his neck, and an Australian accented voice say, "I wouldn't do that if I was you, mate. Now, put the gun down nice and slowly." The director slowly bent down to place his gun on the ground when he quickly spun it and shot the leg of the man behind him. Hearing a curse, and knowing he had little time, he grabbed for the knife at his neck, before throwing it with all his might at the girl who ruined his empire…

Line Break

**3 Minutes Earlier, Somewhere in Washington DC**

Harold Cooper was just starting his day with a cup of coffee and the morning news, when an emergency bulletin interrupted the weather. When he saw and heard what was happening, and coupled with the reports of a city-wide gang war, tying up all police, Cooper knew that this was what Masha had warned him about. Pulling out his phone so quickly he almost dropped it, he paused for the briefest of seconds, before dialing. "General, it's Harold Cooper. I know this will sound insane, but I need you to trust me…"

Line Break

When Julia Andrews arrived at the building, she didn't see much wrong with it, at least on first glance. When she looked closer, she started to notice blood spray and slumped over bodies. Waiting for her were three men in Spetsnaz uniforms. Thanking Pip for his protection, she made her way over to the soldiers, who began to lead her further into the unknown…

Line Break

**Present**

Masha was exhilarated, the operation had gone without a hitch, and not one of their people had been so much as scratched. She cursed herself when she heard a gun go off, and looked up in time to see Mr. Mundy's knife flying towards her. Faced with her own death, Masha froze. Intellectually she knew she should dive out of the way, but her body refused to move. Suddenly, she was flying to the side, and with a scream, she saw and heard the knife sink wetly into the chest of the person who pushed her out of the way.

Scrambling to her feet, she rushed over and felt the beginnings of hot tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, she didn't know how, but she knew what face she'd find looking back at her when she removed the helmet.

Gently doing that, she couldn't help the sob that forced its way past her lips at the sight of a deathly pale Ressler looking back at her. He coughed wetly, and a red trickle of blood began to form at the corner of his mouth. "Hey, Masha," he gasped, "Fancy meeting you here." She sobbed more, "Ressler, damnit, I told you to stay home, why didn't you listen?" He coughed some more, and winced, before gasping out, "Couldn't let you get…hurt." Making a strangled sound halfway between a growl and a sob, she asked him, "Why do you keep doing this, Ressler, nearly getting yourself killed trying to save me?" He gasped out a laugh that turned into a coughing fit that sprayed his blood on her face, she didn't bother wiping it off. "Because I… I… L-love you." He gasped out, before falling limp. Masha lost it, "No, no, no, no, no! Ressler! Don't you die on me, you hear me! Damnit, Ressler, don't you dare die on me before I c-can tell you… Damnit, Ressler, I love you too! You hear me, I love you, you damned honorable man! So, d-don't you dare die before you hear me say that to you! Wake up, Ressler! Wake up, wake up wake up!" Masha shook his shoulders, desperate for any sign of life, but his body remained pale and limp. Stopping, Masha let out a keening wail, before suddenly snapping around and staring at the Director, who had been restrained by Mr. Mundy. "You! You did this! You _Killed _him!" Grasping the handle of the knife sticking out of Ressler's chest, Masha yanked it out, before stalking over to the man.

She staggered almost drunkenly towards her target, but every one of her steps was sure. Her hand was white knuckled around the knife, stained red and still dripping with the blood of the man she loved. She ignored his pleas, his bargaining, wanting only one thing, for him to pay with his life for the life he had taken from her. She growled at Mundy to not stop her, but he never moved a muscle, just looked sadly at her, "The neck, girl, that's where you'll want to do it." Barely acknowledging him, she stared deep into the Directors eyes, before emotionlessly placing the edge of the blade against his throat, and dispassionately sliding it across.

It was only as the panic left his eyes and he slumped over that she suddenly dropped the knife and collapsed forward, sobbing. She was caught by Mr. Mundy, who pulled her tight against him, and led her away. Ignoring the eyes following them, they made their way towards the elevators and then outside, where he would console her, and try to help her get over her first kill in cold blood; and harder than that, the loss of the man she loved.

Line Break

With the arrival of Julia Andrews, the captured members were interrogated with the help of a serum developed in Iraq that made them compelled to tell the truth, though the maker insisted it wasn't a "Truth Serum". With their confessions recorded, she left, after getting a blow-by-blow account of what happened across the world that day. After she left, the remaining members were executed for their crimes, and the bodies disposed of.

She released the story to as many media outlets as she possibly could, and became known as the reporter that changed the world.

**And that's that. Now, don't worry we still have a short epilogue next week, and after that, maybe a Q&A, if you all are interested in that, and after **_**that**_** there is the next project I will be working on, but IAMR is a couple hundred words away from being done. Once again, I thank each and each and every one of you. So, the song this week was Wavin' Flag by K'NAAN, and I'll be honest, it did make me want to do a White House Down esq scene, but I couldn't figure out how to work it, and to be fair, it's probably better I didn't. See you all next week for the final chapter of I am Masha Rostova.**


	19. Masha Are You Ready

**Well, here we are. The end of the road. It's been one hell of an adventure and I'm glad I could share it with you all. Fair warning, I will be surprised if this chapter breaks 1k words, it's really just to put a nice bow on the already wrapped up box, and because I'm a sucker for a happy ending, though there is something to be said for an anti ever after… anyway, without further ado, the epilogue.**

**4 Months Later, The Kremlin**

Masha was a nervous wreck. Not only was she the daughter of KGB Agent Katarina Rostova, she was also the woman who toppled the largest empire in recorded history. Of course, her wedding would not only be a national event, but an international one too. She was desperately trying not to ruin her makeup when a pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders, and gently brought her into a comforting hug. "Lizzy, you will be okay, you and the groom already have stated pretty clearly that you love each other, and I can guarantee you that he will have a hard enough time picking his jaw off the ground to say his vows, I know the thought of calling this off will never cross his mind." Sniffing, she gave Reddington a watery smile, "Thanks, Red, that was exactly what I needed to hear." As the noise being generated by the guests increased, she asked one more time, just to be sure, "And you're positive you don't mind Cooper walking me down the aisle, instead of you?" He laughed in a lighthearted manner, "I'm absolutely positive, Lizzy, I know I dropped that bombshell on you after you had already asked him to walk you in lieu of Sam, I'm perfectly content to wait until after your special day to truly get to know my daughter." Giving him one more smile, she was interrupted from saying any more by a knock at the door, "Masha, are you ready?" smiling and making her way over to the door, she opened it to reveal Harold Cooper in a tuxedo, "I do believe your groom is waiting for you, my dear." Reddington patted her shoulder as he made his way to his seat.

Offering Masha his arm, Cooper led her down the aisle to her waiting husband-to-be. Seeing Ressler's smiling face matching her own sent shivers of joy down her spine. She may have to share her wedding with the world, but after that, she had the rest of her life to look forward to do whatever she wanted. And all she wanted was to spend the rest of her life with her family. She rubbed her rounded belly and smiled, it seemed her family was growing all the time

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

**And there we go, like I said, just a couple hundred words because I love me a good happy ending. And thus, our journey together is officially concluded, at least, where IAMR is concerned, I will be posting that other story I mentioned in one of my authors notes. Expect that to come out next week, it will be found via my profile, because I'm honestly not sure how I will categorize it just yet. Also, once that one is done, inspiration hit me for a Lucifer fic, I'll give more info for that on my next story, so keep an eye out for that as well. The music for this was Hotel California, by the Eagles. Don't forget to post any questions you have and if I get enough I'll do a little Q&A post. Other than that, I just have to reread the chapters to figure out chapter titles and I am officially done with IAMR. Thank you, and good night.**

**Just before I post this chapter, mark the story as complete, and move on, I would like to thank each and every one of you who went on this journey with me. Though we didn't get to 100k words like I originally hoped, we did break 60k, which is nothing to cough at. To those of you who sent me words of love and encouragement, they meant the world to me. To those who faithfully read each chapter, thank you for going down this rabbit hole with me. **

**I will see you all next week for a new chapter of a new story, but, I may just come back to visit the Blacklist crew down the road.**


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